The Jibbs Secret Santa Exchange
by jibbsloversunited
Summary: A Collection of Jibbs stories from your favorite Jibbs authors for all Jibbs lovers. Happy Holidays Everyone.
1. Introduction

**Welcome Everyone the Jibbs Secret Santa Event!**

**There were no requirments, other than no important could be dead by the end of the story, and the neccessary Jibbs kissage. I'm your new host for Jibbsfest, so I hope you all enjoy these Holiday Treats and join us next time.**

_**A'serene**_

_**Blanket Disclaimer: Not one of these authors own NCIS or any of its characters. We just play with them. All stories are the works of the noted author.  
**_


	2. Warm This Winter

**Warm This Winter**

**by Dr. JulietBurke  
**

**Summary: Jenny/Gibbs. When one of the team is injured in the lead up to Christmas, will it bring two of the agents closer together? Gibbs/Tony friendship.**

_for TaylorGibbs_

* * *

At NCIS HQ things were beginning to wind down for the holiday season and with each passing day less and less people seemed to be in the office. Gibbs' team remained intact for now though, including Abby, Ducky and Palmer. Gibbs knew that inevitably soon his team members would be returning home for the holidays, he had already heard Ziva and Abby discussing their plans. He was grateful that no one, so far at least, had had the stupidity to ask him what he would be doing for Christmas. Christmas was certainly not a holiday that Gibbs enjoyed; in fact he doubted he could name one that he actually liked. Things had been different before of course, back when he had had Shannon and Kelly to spend each holiday with. He could still remember with bittersweet clarity the look of pure joy on Kelly's face each Christmas morning when she woke to find that Santa had arrived. He and Shannon would stay up until the early hours of the morning, decorating the house for Kelly and leaving a generous stack of presents neatly stacked under the large Christmas tree. He had so many happy memories of the Christmases they had spent together that it meant the festive season even more difficult to endure. He knew how this year would be, just last the previous few, him alone in his basement with several bottles of bourbon.

"Gibbs, we've got a case," Tim McGee called from across the bullpen, rousing Gibbs from his thoughts. He looked across at the young agent who had his hand over the telephone's receiver. He simply nodded and McGee assured the caller that the team would be there as soon as possible.

Gibbs summoned Tony and Ziva, and the four of them headed for the elevator, assuming that this would be an ordinary case. Maybe it was a missing person, a dead petty officer's wife, or an accusation of rape? None of them knew the terrifying implications of taking on this case.

* * *

"Director," Cynthia stood nervously in the door way of Jenny Shepard's office. "There's an urgent call for you, Agent DiNozzo's been injured. He's at Bethesda now, he's in surgery and they don't know if he's going to pull through." Jenny paled.

"Oh God, Cynthia what happened?" She had pushed herself up from her behind her desk and leaned back against the window sill for support.

"Gibbs was," Cynthia paused for a moment trying to find an adjective that summed up the agent's tone. "Abrupt, he didn't really explain. He just said that they were working a case and he got shot, twice, and he's in a critical condition. I'm sorry that I don't have any more information, Director."

"Thank you, Cynthia." Jenny replied, her thoughts reeling and an irrational part of her wondering why Gibbs had chosen to ring her secretary rather than speaking to her directly. She had her theories but even considering she was one of the few people who had been underneath Leroy Jethro Gibbs' skin, he was still quite often a mystery to her.

Cynthia took her cue to leave and left the Director to her thoughts. Jenny didn't know what to do; working at NCIS could be a dangerous job and over her two year period as Director of the agency, she had seen many of her agents end up in hospital, even Gibbs himself. Of course she had visited him in hospital, but then they had history together and she had known, if the roles had been reversed, Jethro would have been by her beside, no matter who he was having dinner with at the time. She wasn't aware that she had made a conscious decision about how to act until she was slipping on her black jacket and slipping out of her office. Cynthia looked surprised to see the Director leaving.

"Ma'am?" She questioned, looking up from her computer screen.

"If anyone calls for me, please tell them I'll be back later this afternoon, thank you," Jenny replied briskly before striding out towards the elevators.

* * *

Anthony DiNozzo was aware of a throbbing pain in his chest and fiery agony every time he tried to move his right leg. Everything seemed hazy and he could barely open his eyes. He could sense the presence of people in the room though and he was pretty sure that some of the team were here among the doctors and nurses. He blinked furiously, trying to clear his vision but the painkillers were making it harder and harder to fight against his body's urge to sleep.

"Gibbs," He managed to croak before the blackness of exhaustion swallowed him. Gibbs, who had been sitting on a particularly uncomfortable plastic chair in the far corner of the room sipping a cup of terrible coffee, suddenly sprung to attention. He crossed the room in eager strides until he was kneeling beside the low hospital bed.

"DiNozzo, damn it!" He barked, his deep rooted concern masquerading itself as annoyance. "Tony!"

"He's out cold," A pretty redheaded nurse told Gibbs gingerly. "He needs his rest, I suggest you come back in a couple of hours, we don't want to disturb his recovery."

Gibbs nodded with a sigh, hating the fact that the nurse was right. "Is it okay if I have one of my team sitting with him at all times,"

The nurse agreed and Gibbs was glad because it had been a rhetorical question. He leaned over and squeezed DiNozzo's limp hand before going down to the cafeteria where the rest of the team we eagerly waiting for an update. As soon as he walked into the cafeteria a whirlwind of black and red hit him, arms gripping almost painful at his torso; he hugged her back.

"Its okay, Abs, his surgery went reasonably well. He just needs his rest. One of us at a time can go and sit with him but under no circumstances must he be disturbed." Ziva and McGee nodded soberly in reply and Abby finally untangled herself from Gibbs.

"Can I be first to go and sit with him please?" Abby asked, looking around at everyone in turn.

"Of course," McGee replied instantly, knowing how he would feel if it was Ziva who had been fighting for her life today. Gibbs nodded too.

"Goes without saying, Abby, just be careful with him, okay?" Abby smiled the ghost of her usual grin and bounded off towards the elevator. "Why don't you two head back to NCIS, Abby can call you if she needs relieving of her duty, and we'll contact you if Tony's condition changes."

Ziva and McGee agreed, if a little reluctantly, they hated the thought of leaving Tony here, especially with Christmas being so near. Gibbs watched them go, knowing he would be no good back at the office but he also respected Abby's need for some privacy. This was hard for him, he had already lost Shannon and Kelly, and Tony had nearly died from , then Kate had been fatally shot. He couldn't bear to lose Tony too and he knew it would break Abby. He bought himself a cup of coffee and hoped it would be more decent than the last he had had here, and took his drink over to a table by the window.

"Jethro," Gibbs looked up in surprise at the sound of his name being called.

"Jen," He replied incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard about Agent DiNozzo, why didn't you call me Jethro?" She asked, hoping the hurt didn't show in her green eyes or that Gibbs would be too wrapped up in worrying about Tony that he wouldn't notice.

"Jenny, if I'd had to tell you personally that I thought Tony was going to die I wouldn't have been able to stay strong for everyone else." She sat down across from him and at his next words; she reached out and squeezed his hand. "I can't lose another person I care about,"

"Jethro," She said gently, caressing his palm with her fingers. "I spoke to the doctor in charge of Tony's care, and he thinks that if he makes it through the rest of the day and tonight he'll be in the clear."

"How did you find that out? We've only been getting snippets of information because we're not his family." Jethro's light blue eyes became steely. Jenny smiled slightly.

"Ah yes, but you're not Director of a Federal Agency either," Even Gibbs managed a small, appreciative smile at this.

* * *

Abby Scuito stepped nervously out of the elevator when it arrived on Tony's floor and wiped slightly sweaty palms on her tartan mini-skirt. After getting directions from a nurse at the desk, she made her way towards Tony's room. She slipped inside silently and pulled the chair Gibbs' had vacated closer to the bed. A sob caught in her throat when she took in Tony's appearance. His skin was pale and he was linked to so many machines and monitors that Abby didn't even know what half of them were for. She leaned over and took one of his hands in both of her's. She fought against the tears that threatened to fall as she squeezed his hand. This was not how she had envisioned her first Christmas with Tony since they had become a couple; she knew she could not bear to lose him, not now.

"I love you, Tony," She whispered and hoped that somehow he would hear her and understand.

* * *

"Where are Ziva and McGee?" Jenny asked after a few minutes of silence had passed between them. She could see the anguish written clearly on Gibbs' face and she hated the fact that she could do nothing to ease his pain.

"I sent them back to NCIS; we can contact them directly if we need them." He replied, almost robotically. "Shouldn't you be getting back too, I'm sure you've got plenty of paperwork to do." His words came out almost acidly.

"I want to be here, and, as much as I'm sure you'll deny it, I think you need me to be here." She said softly, her eyes never leaving his.

"Thank you," Was all he said in reply, looking away and breaking their eye contact. Jenny was one of the few people who could see past the facade he hid behind and right now he could not afford to break down in front of her.

Jenny was shocked by this show of emotion from him and she was beginning to see how much this team truly meant to him. She realised now that they were his surrogate family and the way he treated him was simply his way of showing them how much he cared. She had never felt the urge to hold him as strongly as she did right now. She was about to act on this sudden need for intimacy when Abby ran into the cafeteria.

"Oh Gibbs! I don't know what happened but one minute I was sat their holding his hand and the next the machines started beeping. A whole bunch of doctors forced their way in and told me to leave. I'm so scared!"

Gibbs stood up and enveloped the Goth in a bear hug, holding her while she sobbed. Jenny produced a tissue from her purse and held it out to the younger woman. Abby accepted it gratefully, the fact that the Director was there didn't seem to cross her mind.

* * *

"Cute," McGee commented as Ziva tried on a Santa hat at the gift shop on the way out of the hospital. Neither of them knew quite what to say or do.

"Should I buy it?" She asked. "It might cheer Tony up." McGee nodded.

"It might," He agreed, handing over the money for Ziva to pay for it. "I'm really worried about him," He confessed as they walked out of the hospital into the cold, late December afternoon. "Tony always acts like he hates me but I'd like to think of us as friends." Ziva smiled, linking her arm through his.

"He treats you like that because you are his friend McGee, the team at NCIS are a better family than my biological one hands up."

"Down, Ziva, it's hands down." McGee replied, laughing lightly in spite of himself.

* * *

Gibbs, Abby and Jenny headed back up to Tony's floor, determined to get some answers this time.

"And if all else fails, I'll just phone Condoleezza Rice," Jenny said and Abby smiled in return. Gibbs felt like he was missing the punch line of a joke but right now he had far more important things on his mind. He was stepping out of the elevator before the doors had even fully opened and Jenny and Abby struggled to keep pace with him as he swept down the corridor.

"I want to know what's going on with Anthony DiNozzo now," He bellowed, in his best 'Special Agent' tone. "We may not be his true family but he might as well be related to us. I also have the Director of NCIS with me," He left the sentence hanging as a young male doctor stared on open mouthed.

"I'll just get my superior for you," He said and disappeared in a flash of his white lab coat.

"Hello," A voice said from behind them. "I'm Doctor Thomas, how can I help you?"

"Please tell us all you can about Tony DiNozzo's condition," Abby blurted, barely able to contain herself.

"He's had a bit of a relapse," The doctor replied, taking his glasses off, folding them and putting them in the top pocket of his lab coat. "He didn't respond particularly well to some of the medication we gave him so we've changed his prescription and upped the dosage. He should be out of the woods for now, but the next few hours will be crucial." Abby nodded.

"And if everyone goes well, how long will he have to stay in hospital for?" Dr. Thomas frowned.

"I'm sorry to say that I doubt he'll be able to come home before Christmas,"

"Can we see him?" Gibbs stepped in, impatient at the doctor's slow manner of speaking.

"Yes, one at a time, please," The doctor replied and Gibbs nodded at Abby, signalling that she should go first.

"How do you fancy another cup of that god-awful coffee from the cafeteria?" Gibbs suggested when he and Jenny were alone in corridor. She could see that he was much more relaxed now that they had a more definite prognosis.

"Sounds good to me,"

* * *

"I'm sorry I scared you," Tony croaked, his throat dry despite the ice chips Abby was feeding him.

"It's okay, you're safe now," Abby replied, slipping another ice chip over his chapped lips. "Gibbs was really worried about you, I mean really worried."

"Wow, I must have been a really close to my deathbed then!" He laughed but it turned into a dry cough.

"Don't joke about that, Tony, it's not funny! I thought I was going to lose you, again!" She paused. "And Gibbs really was worried, he cares about all of us a lot more than we realise."

"I know," Tony sighed. "Even though he treats us like idiots a lot of the time, he's a far better father figure than my real father." Abby smiled.

"There's one small problem though." Tony looked worried.

"What's that?"

"We're not going to be able to get away for our Christmas break; the doctor said you won't be out of here in time for the holidays."

Tony looked disappointed but said. "Oh well, there's always next Christmas." Abby felt herself glowing; it seemed that Tony's transformation from womaniser to monogamous lover was complete.

"Love you, Tony." She said, kissing his forehead.

"I love you too, Abs." He replied.

* * *

Gibbs and Jenny stood looking out of the floor to ceiling window that looked out over the hospital grounds, sipping awful coffee from white polystyrene cups. Neither of them said much but just being in each other's company was enough; it always had been.

"So, dare I ask, what are your plans for Christmas Jethro?" She asked, a small smirk twisting at the corners of her mouth.

"Visiting Tony at the hospital," He replied and Jenny frowned at him disapprovingly. "Why, what are you doing?" Jenny shook her head.

"Nothing special," She said vaguely. "Unless you wanted to spend Christmas with me," When he looked at her in astonishment, she continued, her voice increasing in speed. "I mean, my house is nearer to the hospital to yours, and I have plenty of bourbon."

"Jen," Gibbs took her cup from her hand and threw their trash into the nearby bin. He closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to her's. Jenny almost pulled away, she didn't want to take advantage of Jethro in this situation but it was only a kiss. Although as soon as their lips began to dance together, Jen knew that this was the understatement of the year. She had forgotten how absorbing and amazing Gibbs' kisses were and she found herself getting lost in him. Her arms were locked tightly around his neck, keeping his lips pressed to her's. Gibbs held onto her equally tightly, his hands tight around her waist, holding them together as one. He hadn't expected anything good to come out of today, but he was happy, for once, to be proved wrong.

* * *

3 days later.

When Jenny and Gibbs arrived at the hospital, Abby was already at Tony's bedside, both of them were wearing Santa hats and the room had been decorated with fairy lights and tinsel. Abby got up and hugged them both.

"Merry Christmas," She beamed before resuming her seat on the edge of Tony's bed.

"How are you feeling?" Jenny asked Tony while Gibbs added their presents to the pile underneath the small Christmas tree in the corner.

"Much better, thanks Jenny." Tony beamed, wrapping an arm around Abby.

"Where are Ziva and Tim?" She asked, noticing that there were another two vacant chairs in the cramped hospital room.

"They're on their way," Abby assured her and then grinned impishly. "I think they wanted some alone time, it being their first Christmas together and all."

"How nice for them," Tony muttered darkly, but the fact that almost all of his pain was gone and he was surrounded by three of the people he considered part of his real family, and that it was Christmas morning, made him realise how lucky he was. Abby chose to ignore this comment and hopped off the bed, crossing the distance to the small Christmas tree in quick steps.

"Shouldn't we wait until Ziva and McGeek arrive?" Tony asked, as Abby settled herself back on the bed next to him, a heap of gifts on her lap. Just as he spoke, there was a soft tap on the door and Ziva and McGee stepped into the room.

"Merry Christmas," They chorused and made their way over to the free seats on the opposite side of Tony's bed.

"How are you feeling?" Ziva asked, leaning forward in her chair to study the patient.

"Better," Tony grinned at her and as he scanned the other faces in the room. He had never felt so surrounded and loved before. He wondered when the transition from co-workers and, in Jenny's case, boss, had occurred and how he barely notice it happen. These people were part of his life now and he wouldn't have chosen to spend Christmas Day with anyone else, although he would much rather be spending it anywhere than this damn hospital room. Still, the news was good and he was healing nicely, perhaps his best Christmas present was the knowing that in a week he would free of these four walls to go home with Abby.

* * *

Jenny and Gibbs left the hospital after lunch, Tony was tiring a little now and, despite Jenny proving to be the Director of a powerful agency, the nurse in charge asked some of the party to leave. Ziva and McGee had left first, promising to visit the following day and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.

"He looks so much better," Jenny said, linking her arm through Gibbs' as they exited the hospital and crossed the parking lot. The man beside her looked so lost in thought that she had resorted to small talk to bring him out of it. "Are you okay, Jethro?" She knew today must be hard for her, imagining what it would be like if Shannon and Kelly were alive and he was spending the holiday with them. Nearly losing another member would probably throw Gibbs off the edge, after all only a few years had passed since the death of Kate Todd.

"Just thinking of how close I came to losing yet another agent, Jen." He said, pausing to dig his keys out of his pocket. Jenny reached up and cupped his face in her hands.

"But you didn't Jethro, not this time. Tony is going to be just fine." She assured him. Jethro looked into her eyes, the proximity lighting a fire in him. They had avoided talking about their kiss a few days previously, but he could see now that they were going to have to discuss it, or at least try it out again. He chose the latter option and leaned in to close the small gap between their faces and rub his lips against her's. She responded to his kiss, moulding her mouth to his and pulling him closer to her. The kiss in the hospital cafeteria the other day had seemed almost like a dream afterwards and Jethro's indifference made her believe he had viewed it as a mistake. But now, here he was, kissing her again and this time she wouldn't let him get off so lightly. As the kiss came to an end and they struggled to breathe, Jethro slipped his hands around her waist and looked down at her. Jenny smiled up at him, running her hands down Jethro's arms until they rested over his wrists.

"Merry Christmas, Jethro," She said, pressing a short, sweet kiss to his lips before she tried to escape from his embrace. He wasn't giving up though.

"Don't fight me, Jen," He said, stroking hair out of her face. "I was wrong to ignore our last kiss; I just needed to figure out if we could do this, if we could make it work this time around." Jenny smiled up at him.

"And what was the conclusion you came to?" She asked. He pulled her up into his arms again.

"I'm prepared to do anything to try and get back what we shared before." He swallowed. "Almost losing Tony; almost losing someone else I love, made me realise that I won't lose you again." Jenny felt tears spring in her eyes as she smiled at him. Such heartfelt words were rare. "I'm glad, because I don't want to let you go either. I love you, Jethro." Jethro kissed her again.

"I love you too," He replied. They stood looking at each other for a while before climbing into Jethro's car and driving away from the hospital; off to spend their first Christmas together in far too many years.


	3. Snowflake

**Snowflake by TaylorGibbs**

_For primrose-lh

* * *

  
_

Since she'd first come to DC, Jen had been going past Jethro's house on Christmas Eve. It was always dark upstairs, the only lights shining in the basement. But this year it was very different. A single string of white lights decorated the porch, which was uncharacteristically alit. The house was almost blazing with lights, the kitchen and living room glowing brightly.

Jenny knew the reason why everything had changed. Jackson Gibbs had come to spend Christmas with his son. Jenny had heard about him but hadn't met him yet. Abby absolutely raved about the man, Tony couldn't stop chattering about him. Jenny suspected her friend had a crush on the much older man.

She assumed Abby was inside, along with Tony, most definitely Ducky, who had lost his mother earlier this year. Not for the first time, she wished she had the freedom to mingle with her employees but the problems of the last year were in the forefront of her mind.

Maybe she should just go see if Ziva was interested in doing anything…

She gripped the steering wheel lightly, the warmth of the house calling to her. It looked so inviting, especially on such a cold night. Snow flurries were drifting to dust the hood of her car. She was so tempted, but things were so tense with Jethro…

Jen's attention was taken by one large snowflake slowly drifting down. It was alone but was absorbed by its brethren when it touched the warmth of her car. She wished she could be like that snowflake, welcomed, a part of the big picture.

But her tenure as director had not exactly been good for building friendships…

"Hey!" Someone banged on her window and she scrambled for her gun in the glove box but suddenly her passenger door was thrown open, an elderly man sitting in the seat beside her. She didn't need the introduction. Those eyes told her exactly who this was even if his expression was far more open than his son's.

"Jackson Gibbs, I presume?" she asked, a smile quirking the corners of her mouth.

"Beautiful and smart. And a redhead too. Yeah, I see how you and my boy—"

She covered his mouth much as she'd covered Jethro's once he started talking about inappropriate things or memories better left buried. "Enough already. I don't want to know what he's told you."

"Leroy? Talk? You got the wrong customer, girlie." He'd somehow dislodged her hand and was giving her an innocent look. "Boy hasn't told me a thing. Never did much talking." He sighed and leaned back, resting his head against the back of his seat. "But I see things, hear things. You and my boy were quite the item. He break your heart too?"

"Too?" Jen asked stupidly, too shocked to form coherent sentence.

"Yeah. Redheads. Wives. Now exes. Didn't ever get to know any of 'em. Not sure I wanted to. But you, you're different."

Oh, this was intriguing! "Different how, Mr. Gibbs."

"Jack. Call me Jack, and I'll call you Jennifer."

She inclined her head, a smile playing on her lips. She waited not so patiently, watching the older man. At some point they'd entered a standoff and she hoped he'd find her worthy.

"Take charge kinda gal. Not someone who'd let my boy walk all over her. Or live in the past," he said emphatically. "That what got ya into trouble?"

Jen chuckled. "Maybe," she allowed.

"Gave him lip, I betcha. Leroy's mother was the same way. All fire. But when she was mad, oh boy…"

Jenny couldn't stop the smile. "Jack, your son and I were like oil and water. It just didn't work."

He looked her up and down, appraising her without being creepy. "Pity. You were close to his equal, I bet. See something in your eyes."

"You've known me for all of five minutes, Jack. Don't tell me you can read my expressions so soon. Only the best investigators are that good."

"Don't need special agent training to see shadows. Now come on. Get out of your car and go inside with me as my guest. Shouldn't be alone, Jennifer. It's Christmas."

She sighed, looking at the house. It seemed so damn inviting and her resolve was crumbling by the second.

As if Jackson Gibbs sensed it, he gave her a bright hopeful smile that was so different yet so reminiscent of his son's. "Got some great eggnog, spiked it myself." He lowered his voice, but it was still brimming with warmth and invitation. "They're partway to drunk and mellow. Come on inside, Jennifer."

Her hands clenched briefly on the steering wheel but he guided them off and gallantly came around to open her door. There was something about this man that made her feel so welcomed.

"Now, Jennifer, you're gonna go inside and you're gonna greet Leroy as if this is the most natural thing in the world. Then I'm gonna get ya drunk and they're gonna forget you're their boss. Understand me?"

The way he presented everything so simply gave her hope. She knew she was deluding herself but she nodded anyway and allowed him to lead her to the front door.

"Leroy," Jack called out as they stepped inside, "Look what the cat dragged in. She was all alone outside, didn't think you'd mind." With a wicked grin, he straightened her shoulders and stepped back, nodding.

"Jen?" He skidded to a stop, looked up, and then shook his head in Jack's direction. Jen's eyes followed his to where a sprig of mistletoe hung, swaying slightly in the breeze created by their movements.

"Merry Christmas." Jethro leaned in, eyes fluttering closed, and brushed a gentle kiss over her mouth. It was barely more than a whisper of warm lips against cool, of the spicy taste of eggnog being shared, of his tongue darting out to touch hers in a split second, but it meant the world to her.

Maybe there was hope for friendship—or more. Oh yes, the pressure of his lips increased and he let out a small happy sound before he pulled away. When she broke away, his eyes were twinkling just as much as his father's did. She read so many promises in his eyes and her heart soared.

Jenny cupped his cheek and then stroked a hand through his hair. "Merry Christmas, Jethro."


	4. Mistletoe Magic

_For Olivia (MissJayne)_

**By primrose-lh (Emma)**

**Mistletoe Magic

* * *

  
**

When NCIS Director Jenny Shepard descended the stairs, the first thing that flew through his mind was that she looked like a snow queen. In her white shimmering dress with rhinestones decorating the straps, making her skin look even paler than usual and her hair even more fiery red. The silk of the dress clung to her upper body like a second skin, showing off her soft curves and revealing a generous amount of milky white cleavage, the dress flowed around her legs as she strode down the stair case with dignity, head held high and a small smile grazing her faint red lips. The second thing going through his head was that he really shouldn't look at his boss this way, really shouldn't incorporate her picture in one of his bedroom fantasies, and really, really shouldn't experience a burning sensation in his lower parts when his eyes hungrily wandered up and down her body.

He cursed her inwardly for forcing him to go to the NCIS Christmas party, and even though she'd be in a ballroom crammed full of NCIS agents, she would need someone to keep an eye on her, and she had chosen him – probably because she knew he hated those things and wasn't planning on going in the first place, or because she knew he wouldn't bring a date if he was supposed to be her protection detail.

Not that he would have brought a date anyway – even if he'd planned on going, which he wouldn't have done, unless he was forced to.

She shook her head and the long red curls flowed like a curtain of silk over her shoulders and cascaded down her back. Gibbs thought that if he'd been DiNozzo, he would definitely have earned a head-slap for the way he was looking at her.

Jen shot him an amused smiled as she passed him, and he immediately pulled himself together, knowing the way he had stared at her might have come off as slightly too inappropriate.

He quickly took to following her – he was supposed to be her protection detail after all – and at the same time cursing himself for agreeing to this in the first place. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Gibbs sighed as he ran down the stairs to his basement later that night. It had been some night, one awkward moment after another. But the top twos were definitely when he'd accidentally nudged her elbow so she spilled her wine all over her dress. He wouldn't forget the look she'd given him any time soon. Luckily she could swap dress with Ziva, who was heading home anyway – though Gibbs had a feeling she hadn't planned on going home at all, just felt sorry for Jen and offered her the dress. Jen was the centerpiece of the party, after all. And so she'd continued the night dressed in Ziva's clinging short, red dress – in Gibbs' eyes she suddenly looked like a sexy Santa's little helper instead of the more sophisticated, but not any less sexy, snow queen she'd been before. Though that was something he'd never tell her.

And topping his list of awkward moments through the night – and at the same time, maybe his favorite moment – was when Abby had cheerfully pointed out that he and Jen were both standing together underneath a sprig of mistletoe. Jen had muttered a curse out of the corner of her mouth as Abby had firmly stated that they would have to kiss, it was tradition. Gibbs wasn't sure what had possessed him, but he'd found himself taking charge, and quickly leaned in to kiss her softly on the mouth. He pulled back and found her eyes glaring at him, but as he smirked and walked away, he could have sworn there had also been a softer spark in the deep green. Maybe the brief touch of their lips had roused the same feelings in her as it had in him. Though she hadn't spoken to him for the rest of the night and it was safe to say that the ride home had been awkward and this tension seemed to start growing between them, and it unnerved him slightly.

* * *

Jen cursed as she heard the ominous rip of fabric breaking. After having tried to struggle out of Ziva's red dress for five minutes, she'd realized it wasn't going to end well, and was about to try a different approach, when the dress had ripped. She threw the remains of the dress onto her chest of drawers, making a mental note to buy Ziva a new dress. She slipped into sweatpants and an old, worn NCIS t-shirt.

As she curled up between her expensive satin sheets, she thought back to the night's events. She had enjoyed Gibbs' reaction when he'd first seen her in her white dress. Even though she knew she could not get back together with him, she still loved to tease him, and she must have done a good job, because she could have swore he'd been ready to take her there and then.

Then, her annoyance with him at just grown as the night wore on. First him ruining her dress, and then the incident under the mistletoe.

She rolled over onto her back and stared up at the dark ceiling.

Her mind drifted back to the when Gibbs had kissed her. She'd been frozen in her position, watching his face rapidly move closer and before she knew what was going on, what was happening, he had already pulled away, leaving her mind reeling and throwing silent curses his way for the way he made her feel. She could still feel his lips on hers, even though the sensation had been so brief, just a light touch, she remembered what it felt like to kiss him from a time lost long ago. It was disturbing what effect he still had on her.

She rolled back onto her side, closed her eyes and tried to sleep. But the night's events had roused too many memories to the surface, and she was unable to relax, as Gibbs' face floated before her eyes. But it wasn't just his face. She let out a sound between a curse and a moan as she re-lived one of her fantasies about him.

Her eyes fluttered open and she threw off the cover, realizing she couldn't stay in bed. She went down the stairs and into her study. Pouring herself a healthy measure of bourbon, she knew she had to do something about this. She sank into the leather armchair, pulling up her legs and draping a blanket over her.

There was no denying it now. Her old feelings for Jethro had resurfaced – stronger and more intense than ever – and she doubted they'd go away any time soon. She looked over at the corner of her study were her Christmas tree was sparkling, and considered the thought, that it was Christmas, the time of the year when everything bad seemed worse. The fact that she was alone seemed even more suffocating now than it usually did, when she had no one to share the holiday with, no one to cuddle up with in front of the fire on Christmas Eve, no one to wake up next to on Christmas Day. She knew Jethro was alone too, knew he didn't care much for Christmas, most likely because he didn't have his family to spend it with. She figured, maybe if they had each other, it would bring back some of the magic of Christmas.

A plan started to form in her mind. An idea that – if it succeeded – would not only make him see the true meanings of Christmas, but also bring them back together. She knew it was against her better judgment to get back together with him – she was his boss now and she remembered clearly when she'd told him there would be no off the job – but now she knew she had to do what was truly the best for her.

The empty glass slipped from her grip as her hand started to relax, her body slowly drifting off to sleep. It tumbled to the floor without breaking, rolling over the rug and settling underneath the Christmas tree. Jen was fast asleep, curled up in the armchair, her hand clenched around the edge of the soft blanket. A small smile on her lips, dreaming of Jethro.

* * *

"What?!" Gibbs stared at her incredulously, like she was completely out of her mind.

"You heard me, Jethro." Jen replied calmly, skillfully hiding her smile. She had anticipated this reaction from him. She knew this wasn't going to be easy, but she would convince him. Eventually.

He stared at her, having hoped he'd heard her wrong, but the look in her eyes told him he hadn't.

"I'm not doing it." He stated firmly.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not. You can't force me."

"Jethro, I'm your boss." She hadn't really wanted to play the 'I'm your boss' card, but she realized she didn't have much of a choice.

"My boss or not, you can't make me dress up as Santa Claus on the NCIS Family Christmas Party!" he said and glared at her.

Jen was finding it much harder to control her amusement now, the image of Gibbs as Santa just wouldn't get out of her head.

"I can, and I will." She said sternly.

"I won't do it Jen." He argued.

"Give me a good reason."

He glared at her as she waited for his answer. He paced the length of floor in front of her desk, feeling her eyes on him the entire time.

"I think it'll be good for you." Jen said, causing him to stop and look at her. She met his gaze. "Spending Christmas with other people. Children."

He looked away, and she knew she'd hit a sensitive spot. She just hoped it would be enough to convince him. He pulled out a chair from the conference table and sat down heavily. Spinning it slightly back and forth.

"No, Jen. I can't do it." He finally said, the pain in his voice making her realize the sensitive spot she'd hit may have been a little too sensitive.

"Please, Jethro. Do it for the kids. You'd make a great Santa." She tried to coax him, but he just shook his head.

"I can't, Jen." He looked down at his feet.

At that moment, when she heard the sadness in his voice and saw the pain flicker across his eyes, she knew he was not going to do it. No matter what she said or did would make him agree. The memory of the Christmases he'd spend with Kelly was tearing at him and she knew he'd only see her in all the excited little faces staring up at him.

She sighed.

"Will you at least come to the party? For me?" She tried, at least hoping he wouldn't be spending Christmas Eve in his basement working on that boat of his.

"It's the NCIS Family Christmas Party, Jen. It's for families."

"Your team is coming. Aren't they considered family?" She asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"Yeah," he admitted, and rose from his seat. "But I assume they'll have more fun without me."

"I honestly doubt that."

"How would you know?" the words slipped from his lips before he could stop them.

She looked at him intensely before answering.

"I know them better than you think."

He shot her one last look before he headed toward the door.

"Jethro," He turned as she called his name.

"If you change your mind…" She trailed off.

"I won't."

"Well, if you do, the Santa suit will be hanging in the conference room." She finished.

He didn't give her another look as he walked out of her office.

She sighed heavily, threw her head back against the headrest of her chair and whirled the chair around to face the windows. Maybe reminding him that Christmas was about family hadn't been her brightest move, especially since he'd lost his. But she knew she was right about what she'd said about his team, knew he considered them his family and hoped he'd eventually admit that himself. She wasn't sure what he thought of her though. She wanted to be incorporated in their family, but wasn't sure she fit. There was no denying it that Gibbs' team was the team she was closest to, but she was pretty certain they just saw her as the Director, not family.

Abby had once referred to her as 'mommy', and it always made Jen feel warm inside when she thought about it, though it didn't tell her what the rest of the team thought of her.

Her mother and sister lived in Florida, with their respective husbands and her sister's two year old son. And since they were all down there, and Jen was up in DC, they'd preferred if she would come down to them, but Jen didn't have the time any more. Didn't have time to go visit them even over Christmas.

She so badly wanted to make Jethro once more see the joys of Christmas, and she was determined to be the one to make him see it.

* * *

Gibbs blew gently at the beam of the boat, causing sawdust to whirl up and he stroked his hand over the polished wooden surface. Then he took a long swig out of the bottle of bourbon, sighed, and leaned heavily against the beam. He closed his eyes and reveled in the scent that surrounded him, a mixture of sawdust and bourbon that he was used to and comfortable with. But right now, that scent only served to remind him of Jen.

He thought about what she'd told him earlier today, about Christmas being a time for family. It had been, once, an important holiday for him. When he'd had a family to spend it with. Only time after their death the holiday had been slightly bearable had been that Christmas he'd spent with Jen in Paris. Well, the memory put a small smile on his face; it had been quite a memorable Christmas. On more than one occasion they had ended up together under a hanging of mistletoe, sometimes on purpose, sometimes not. Not that they had minded, or that they needed a reason to kiss anyway…as it was a whole lot of kissing and long mornings in bed that Christmas. The following year, without her, hadn't been filled with much Christmas spirit at all. He'd been out on a mission in Europe, leaving Stephanie to go by herself home to the US to spend the holiday with her family.

The thought of mistletoe once again roused his memory from the night before. The thought of kissing Jen made him feel in a way he knew he wasn't supposed to feel. But he couldn't let go of the feeling. Couldn't let go of the thought of how good it had been to kiss her.

He remembered their conversation, remembered she'd asked him to come to the party tomorrow, for her. She'd told him, his team was his family, and suddenly wondered, if she wished she was a part of their 'family'. Something in the way she observed them from the catwalk above the bullpen, the hint of sadness and longing in her eyes, told him that was exactly what she wished. He suddenly realized, she was just as lonely as he was. She didn't have a family to spend Christmas with either.

He took another swig of bourbon. Suddenly, the thought of dressing up as Santa for the kids didn't seem so bad. He knew it would made Jen happy, and seeing her happy, for some reason made him feel all warm inside.

* * *

It was Christmas Eve, and it was a fairly calm day at NCIS. Few agents were working, and among the ones that were there the main subject was the night's Christmas party.

"Boss, are you coming to the party tonight?" Tony asked as he packed up his things to leave.

"Maybe." Gibbs replied, causing Tony, McGee and Ziva to look at him in surprise, as they had all figured Gibbs wouldn't be there, he rarely showed up on events like this.

"Really?" Tony asked, still not completely recovered from the shock. Gibbs looked up at him, eyebrow raised.

"Did I stutter or something, DiNozzo?" He said, and Tony smiled.

"No, boss, I was just… ah I hadn't expected you to…I mean, you don't usually come to these things and…" He trailed off as Gibbs shot him a glare that told him it was time to shut up, or a headslap would be next. "Glad you're thinking about coming, boss." He said, throwing on his coat and grabbing his backpack.

"You leaving already?" Ziva asked.

"Got some Christmas shopping to do, Zee-vah." He said. "If you're lucky, I might get you something. Have you been a good assassin this year?" he grinned, but ducked as she threw a rubber at him. It bounced off the floor and ended up under the Christmas tree. Tony quickly scurried off toward the elevator, fearing next time she'd throw something significantly harder at him.

Gibbs felt eyes on him, and when he raised his head, he found Jen on the catwalk above them, staring out over the bull pen. He observed her for a while, the way her eyes darted over the floor below her, like a hawk. Her eyes inevitably locked with his. There was no spark in them. Nothing that suggested she had any Christmas spirit. Gibbs knew exactly how she felt. For some strange reason, all he really wanted to do was to go up to her, and pull her into a hug. She shot him a glare, before turning and heading into MTAC. He sighed, not sure what to do.

* * *

When he got home, he made the grave mistake of looking through an old photo album. It was filled with pictures of the Christmases he'd spend with Shannon and Kelly. His eyes filling with tears, he ran his fingertips over a picture of Kelly sitting in Santa's lap at a mall. Kelly loved Santa, loved everything about Christmas.

He closed the album, deciding not to go. He couldn't dress up as Santa without getting this picture of Kelly in his head. And he really wasn't in the mood for a party.

He darted down the stairs to his basement, opening a new bottle of bourbon and grabbing his sanding tool, deciding to spend this Christmas like he'd spend it every other year.

* * *

Jen flipped her hair over her shoulder, laughing warmly at the younger couple before her. Special Agent Mike Turner and his wife and adorable 4 year old daughter. The room was crammed with NCIS agents and their families, and those who didn't have any family were there with their friends.

The little girl tugged gently on Jen's long, champagne colored dress. She tilted her head downwards to smile at the little girl.

"Martha," Her mother reprimanded her daughter for yanking the dress of the Director of NCIS. Jen just shook her head, telling her it was no problem, and knelt down so she was level with the little girl.

"Yes, sweetie?" She said softly.

"When will Santa be here?" Martha asked, her big blue eyes sparkling.

"He will be here any minute." Jen replied. After Jethro had refused, she'd asked another agent to step in as Santa. She felt defeated, for not trying to harder to convince him, but she hadn't been sure how far she could push him. She didn't want to make things worse than they already were.

She smiled at Martha again.

"Do you know what you want for Christmas?" Jen asked, and Martha nodded, her pigtails bouncing.

"I want a doll."

"Well, have you been a good girl?" Jen inquired, smiling.

The girl nodded.

"Well, then I think you'll get a doll for Christmas." Jen smiled warmly, and was caught surprised when Martha suddenly threw her arms around her, pulling her into a hug. Jen hugged her back, reveling in the feeling of the small body in her arms.

"Thank you Madame." She said when she pulled away.

"Oh don't thank me, thank Santa." Jen threw a quick glance over her shoulder, seeing something red coming through the door. "Isn't that him coming right there?" She asked and pointed toward the door. The little girl squealed, grabbed her mother's hand and started dragging her over to the huge chair set up for Santa, as he was taking his seat, children already gathering in front of him.

Mark held out his hand to Jen, who took it.

"Thank you, Director." He said and Jen nodded.

"Merry Christmas Mark."

She looked after him when he went to join his family, suddenly feeling very jealous. He had a partner, had a child. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed having a child; until Martha so spontaneously had hugged her, it made her wish she had a child of her own.

As she went over to refill her glass of bourbon, she saw an agent standing there. An agent who shouldn't be there. She glanced toward Santa; it was too far to make out his features.

"John," She said to the elderly agent. "I thought you were supposed to be Santa." She asked, giving him a confused look. The man smiled at her and sipped his eggnog.

"I was, but when I went to get my suit, it was gone!" he nodded toward the Santa, now with a little boy on his lap. "I guess someone beat me to it…" he realized he was talking to himself, as Jen was already halfway across the room.

If John wasn't Santa, then who the hell was?

She froze in her tracks as she got closer, now seeing his face properly, though, not really sure it was actually him. It couldn't be Gibbs sitting there, Martha now crawling into his lap, dressed out as Santa Claus, could it?

But his laugh ringing out, his blue eyes sparkling, the sound of his deep voice what she asked what she wanted for Christmas, was undoubtedly Jethro's.

She was suddenly curious to find out what had changed his mind. She walked closer until he saw her and shot her a warm smile. She smiled back, making her way towards him through the sea of kids gathering in front of him.

"Hello, Mr. Santa." She greeted him with a spark in her eyes.

"Hello fair lady." He said back, winking at her.

"May I have a word with you? Now?" She inquired as he raised an eyebrow. The kids let out groans of disapproval.

"Are you stealing our Santa, Madame?" Martha asked, still in Gibbs' lap. Jen smiled at her.

"I promise to bring him back." Jen assured her and beckoned for Gibbs to follow her.

She stopped in a deserted corner of the room, waiting for Gibbs to join her.

"I thought you weren't going to come." She said, arching one elegant eyebrow.

"Changed my mind." He just said, smiling at her from behind the fake beard.

"Why, Jethro?" She inquired softly; wanting to think it had something to do with her.

"Shh." He said, pressing a finger to his lips. "It's 'Santa'" he teased and winked at her. She rolled her eyes but couldn't fight the smile creeping onto her lips.

"Why?" She asked again. He pulled out a photo from the pocket of his suit and handed it to her. She stared down at the young Kelly in the picture, sitting in Santa's lap. She looked back up at him.

"I was looking at that photo, first it made me sad, and then I realized that man in the Santa suit made her happy, he made her Christmas. I just want to give the same gift to other children." When he finished speaking, he smiled, and reached out a hand to brush away a tear from Jen's cheek. His hand lingered on her cheek for a moment.

"Though," He continued, making her look up into his sparkling blue eyes. "That's not the only reason."

"What's the other reason?" She said, her voice trembling slightly, not daring to believe…

He looked at her for a long moment.

"You." He finally said, and she thought her heart would stop.

"Me?" She whispered.

"Yes, you, Jen. You asked me to come, for you. And I couldn't let you down." He searched her eyes that were once again brimming with tears. He pulled her into a tight hug, running his hands soothingly over her back. He smiled when he cast a glance upwards, pulling away from her slightly.

"Well, we sure have a habit of ending up under the mistletoe…" He said with a laugh, causing her to quickly look up, and there above their head, hung a sprig of mistletoe. She smiled.

"Well, are you going to kiss me, Santa?" She said sweetly.

"Is that what you want for Christmas, Jenny?" He asked, amused.

"That's the only thing I want." She said. "Though…" She added thoughtfully.

"What?"

She looked up at him. "There may be one other thing I want…"

"What's that?"

"I want a man." She said and he raised an eyebrow. "A certain Leroy Jethro Gibbs. You know him?"

He didn't quite succeed in hiding his smile, but pretended to look like he was thinking.

"May have heard about him. He seems to be a good fellow." He said with feign seriousness.

"He is. In fact, he's the best man I've ever met. I just wonder, do you think he'll want me too?" She asked, seeing a sudden happiness in his eyes she didn't think she'd even seen there before.

He slipped an arm around her waist.

"I think he thinks you're the most wonderful woman in the world, and he'd be thrilled to have you."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Now, about that kiss…" he said in a low voice, slipping his hand around her neck, pulling her closer. She smiled, leaning forward; glad to be where she was, in his arms, under the mistletoe. She pulled down his fake beard slightly to gain better access to his mouth.

She placed her fingertip to his lips, stopping his movements. He looked at her questioningly.

"You are a really great Santa, by the way." She said, smiling. He chuckled lightly, as she removed her finger from his mouth.

His lips covered hers, gently at first. Then she lifted her hands and pulled at the collar of his Santa suit, bringing him closer to him and eventually winding her arms around his neck, deepening their kiss.

* * *

"Are you sure about that Ziva?" Tony inquired, giving her an incredulous look.

"Yes, Tony, I'm sure it was Gibbs who was Santa Claus." Ziva said, smiling.

"I have to get a picture of that!" Tony exclaimed, digging out his cell phone from his trouser pocket. He glanced up to see Abby rushing toward them, a wide grin on her face, her eyes sparkling. She pulled to a halt in front of them, bouncing up and down, not able to stand still.

"What's up Abs?" Tony asked, wondering what could possibly have gotten the goth girl so excited. She clapped her hands and beamed.

"I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus!"

**The End**


	5. Blades of Love

**Blades of Love**

**by MissJayne**

_for OrphanActress818_

* * *

Jenny was surprised at the knock on her front door. It was Christmas Day, and she had spent it all alone. For once, she had taken the day off work, having decided that she worked every other day without a break and she deserved some time to herself for once. She was fairly sure that Gibbs' team were meeting up at some point, and she did not wish to intrude on them.

So who would be at the door? Fighting down the terrifying feeling that she was going to have to deal with a drunk Tony, an annoyed Ziva, a hyper Abby and a tired McGee, she rose from her couch and headed towards the now continual knocking. Someone certainly wanted to see her urgently. She briefly wondered if it was merely some carol singers, before pulling the door open.

She was not expecting _this _visitor.

It had been snowing gently over the last few days, and her whole road was lightly covered in it. The local children had taken to building snowmen and throwing snowballs everywhere, forcing her to dodge several as she had walked inside the previous night. The air was cold and crisp, with the odd snowflake still falling. A few flakes were nestled in the silver hair of her visitor, one Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

She had not expected him to leave his basement on this day. He was not one for celebrating the holidays, presumably because they reminded him of the family he had lost. When they had been in Europe together, she had been the one to arrange for a small reminder of home, often with a simple tree and a little bit of tinsel. He had smiled and gone along with it, but she had seen the pain in his eyes. More recently, she had watched him ignore the holiday completely, normally signing up to work the shift through it. Lately, they had been getting closer, although she had definitely not expected this.

Quirking an eyebrow at him, she stepped back to permit him entrance. He obeyed, wiping his feet on the mat to prevent snow from getting all over her carpet. She did not push him, waiting to see what he would say.

"Grab your coat," he ordered.

Today was full of surprises. They were going out? To where? Knowing he would merely ignore her questions, she kept silent, snagging a coat from her closet and following him back outside the door.

NCISNCISNCIS

Gibbs was privately amazed that she had agreed to come with him without having a clue as to where that was. It was an indication of how much she trusted him, he guessed. There had been a great deal of trust between them when they were partners – it helped that their lives had been in each other's hands so many times – but since she had left him, their working relationship had not been as smooth.

Slowly but surely, things seemed to be changed between them. He liked where it was going, and was careful not to force anything too quickly. He wanted her to feel comfortable rather than rushed. She had yet to object to anything he did, probably because it mainly consisted of him bringing her coffee and food when she was working late. And they had been talking a lot more, about everything and nothing.

He had missed her, missed being close to her and sharing all the little things. He had been driving home a few nights ago when he had spotted something he was sure she would love. His initial plan had been to drag her from her office in the Navy Yard, although she had confused him by taking the day off. This has not changed his overall plan too much though, and he was still sure that she would enjoy it.

He stopped the car, and let her eyes drift over to where they would be going. Not bothering to wait for any comment or question she might have, he opened his door and stepped out into the wintry air. He pulled her coat out from the back seat, unwilling to let her get too cold, before opening her door and bundling her up warm. She smiled at him, before asking the question he knew she was desperate to ask.

"Why are we at an ice skating rink?"

He resisted the urge to laugh, recalling her mentioning back in Serbia how much she had enjoyed ice skating as a child. She did not seem to think he had remembered it, and he had never reminded her.

Catching her arm gently, he propelled her towards the entrance. "I thought you might enjoy it," he admitted.

The smile she gave him was enough to make his heart melt. "I'm sure I will," she whispered back.

NCISNCISNCIS

The log fire warmed Jenny up as she sat next to it, but it did not warm her as much as the arms of the man around her.

She had slipped over on the ice after they had been out there for a while. He was a surprisingly good skater, which had led to her hiding a few smirks. What other hidden talents did he keep secret? She had always been adept on the ice, although he had seemed a little uncertain, as though it had been a while since he had last donned his skates. Suspecting the last occasion might have been in happier times much long past, she had held her tongue.

It had felt good to skate with him. At first, they had raced each other, their usual competitive selves shining through. Gradually, they had come closer and closer together, until they had been holding hands and then he had wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Unfortunately, this had led to her tripping over. Although relatively undamaged, her ankle was still aching, so he had taken her back home.

She had invited him in, not wanting their time together to end just yet. She had made up the log fire in her study, while he had carefully poured them both some bourbon. They had ended up sitting on the floor, with him cuddling her close to keep her warm.

Not that she planned to object. She was comfortable and she felt cared for, even loved. Their breathing was the only noise in the room apart from the crackling of the fire. They did not seem to need anything else.

He broke their stalemate, softly pressing kisses to her hair. She snuggled deeper in his arms, allowing him access to her neck, an opportunity that he did not pass up. Her eyes drifted shut, trusting this man to protect her from whatever might come their way. His lips gently pressed against her cheek, and she moved to capture his lips. Their kiss was not hurried, but tender, each trying to show the other how much they cared.

NCISNCISNCIS

As the fire died out in the early hours of the morning, the newly-reunited lovers drifted off to sleep. They had no need for anything but each other.

**THE END**


	6. Lost and Found

**A/N: For Ncisali. Enjoy all the fluffy Jibbs-y goodness and have a very merry Christmas! RM**

**Lost and Found**

**by OrphanActress818**

_for Ncisali_

_

* * *

  
_

"Director Shepard!"

The muted clicking of heels across the expanse of carpet covering the floor of the catwalk stopped as NCIS Director Jennifer Shepard pivoted expertly on one 4-inch black stiletto to face her slightly flustered assistant.

"Yes, Cynthia?" Jenny inquired, gesturing to the younger woman to walk alongside her as she resumed her trek to her office.

Cynthia flipped quickly through a thick manila folder as she hurried to keep up with her boss.

"Um, I got an email from SecNav's secretary saying that he wouldn't be able to look at the request you put in until after the holiday season and I tried calling Lt. Commander Wilson's office just now, but he's out too and…"

"Figures," Jenny snorted, interrupting her.

"Anyway," Cynthia continued with an amused smile, "I could go on with all the other emails and memos I received from any one of a dozen offices, but they're all pretty much the same—nothing gets done 'til after Christmas."

By this time, they had reached the director's office and Jenny took the folder from her assistant's hands, waving absentmindedly at Cynthia to have a seat at the glass-topped conference table that dominated the room.

She read through two or three of the papers before her neatly manicured nails began tapping the tabletop, a sure sign of impatience.

"Well, how the hell do they expect anything to get done if they go and take off a week before vacation time even starts? I know I sent in several of these notices at the beginning of the month!"

The redhead's voice had escalated dramatically by the end of her tirade. Cynthia, in her wisdom, stayed quiet as her boss scanned several more of the documents in the folder before handing it back with a sigh.

"You might as well go home Cynthia. It doesn't look like there's going to be anything more to do until after New Year's and there's nobody else left in the building anyway."

"Are you sure, Director? I'll stay if you're going to," Cynthia told her worriedly.

Jenny smiled fondly at her. "Don't worry about me. I'll be leaving soon anyway."

"If you say so," Cynthia conceded, her tone slightly disapproving, belying what she really thought about her boss' work habits.

"Merry Christmas, Director."

"You too, Cynthia."

The moment she was alone, Jenny let her shoulders drop and set her elbow on the table, resting her head on her palm.

oOo

Three hours later, the first female director of an armed federal agency finally shut down her computer and shoved the remainder of the paperwork on her desk into her briefcase. After quickly downing the remainder of the bourbon in her glass, she grabbed her coat, intent on heading to her townhouse and going straight to bed.

As she shrugged the thick black wool over her shoulders, she frowned. Something was off. Had there always been a weight in the left pocket?

Reaching slowly into the pocket, Jenny felt her hand close around a medium-sized velvet box. She pulled it out and stared at it. A small scrap of paper had been tied around the box—a scrap of paper that contained only three words in a familiar scrawl.

'I found it.'

Curious, Jenny opened the box and gasped.

It was a necklace. An oh-so-familiar necklace.

oOo

NCIS Agent Jennifer Shepard giggled and punched her partner in the shoulder.

"I can't believe you just said that!" she gasped through her laughter, smiling wider as his chuckles joined hers.

His arm came around her shoulders as they crossed the crowded Parisian street and didn't drop after they had reached the other side. Jenny, for her part, snuggled into his embrace as they walked comfortably, her flip-flop clad feet unconsciously matching his stride. Suddenly, she stopped.

"Jethro, look!" she exclaimed from where she was standing transfixed in front of a small jewelry shop.

"What is it now Jen?" her partner asked exasperatedly, moving to stand beside her.

"Look, right there," she said, pointing to a delicate silver necklace resting in a blue velvet case.

"It's pretty," Jethro Gibbs commented, then turned to face her. "But Jen, you do realize that you really don't need another necklace, right?"

"I know," she sighed, taking one last look at the ornament before stepping away.

"Hang on," her partner said, grabbing her arm. "I know there's a 'but' coming."

She stood for a while, simply staring down at her toes before meeting his questioning gaze.

"It looks like my mom's," she whispered.

Gibbs looked at the necklace again, this time more closely. It really was beautiful. The chain was crafted entirely of infinitesimal links that flowed gracefully to meet the small, teardrop-shaped diamond that hung from the center of the necklace. It was a fairly simple design in comparison to those surrounding it and, from the looks of it, had probably been sitting in the window for quite some time without being able to catch the eye of any passerby.

"Jen," Gibbs said softly to his partner, who was once again staring at the necklace.

She looked up at him through huge green eyes.

"We really have to check in with the director now, but I promise we'll come back and buy it tomorrow, ok?"

"Thank you," Jenny whispered. Gibbs said nothing, but pulled her gently into a hug as they resumed walking.

They'd returned the next day to find the display case empty. Stepping into the shop, they'd been informed by the salesgirl that the necklace had indeed been purchased only the day before. It was handcrafted, she'd explained, and another could not be expected before Christmas.

But their assignment would be over by the end of the summer. Christmas was too late.

The beautiful necklace that looked exactly like the one Margaret Shepard had been buried with was gone.

oOo

Jenny sighed and touched the necklace again, an unconscious gesture that seemed to be turning into a habit, as she lay on her bed. She knew that this would probably be one of the only times she could get a decent amount of sleep, but her mind was refusing to shut down.

The minute she'd recognized the necklace, she'd slipped it out of the box, fastened it around her neck, and hadn't taken it off since. It sparked memories of the happy times she and her mother had shared so long ago. Unfortunately, the gift had also come with reminders of a past relationship and now, as her fingers toyed with the chain around her neck, her mind was plagued with thoughts of the man who'd given it to her.

Should she thank him at work or go to his home? Should she get him something in return? But what could she possibly give him?

As she pondered these questions, she found herself slowly drifting off.

oOo

The morning of Christmas Eve dawned cold and clear, skies a perfect pale blue and slick pavement glistening with ice.

Inside of her study, curled up in an armchair with the fire burning high, Jenny Shepard toyed with the handle of her coffee mug, her mind whirling as it tried desperately to solve the one riddle she'd never been able to figure out.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

The man was nothing but a puzzle—a confusing, time-consuming puzzle with a thousand pieces that never seemed to fit together no matter what she tried. And now she was faced with the dilemma of presenting him with a gift as precious as the one he'd given her.

But what in the world could he possibly want?

Sighing tiredly, Jenny hoisted herself up off her chair, wincing slightly as she heard her knees crack, and swallowed the last of her coffee.

Maybe it was time to ask for a little advice.

oOo

Jenny shivered, hunching her shoulders in an effort to draw her coat closer to her body. The cemetery always seemed so much colder than the rest of the world, but now the temperature was almost unbearable. She crouched down beside her mother's grave and, ignoring the cold, pulled a trembling hand out of her pocket to rest it on the polished stone.

"Hi, Mom," she whispered.

Then, ever so quietly, she began to tell her mother everything from the moment she'd joined NCIS until the present. Everything important in her life she'd neglected to tell the one person who'd ever really listened to whatever she'd wanted to say.

It was over an hour later before she finally ran out of words. Jenny pushed herself up from the cold ground and surreptitiously shook out her legs, which had fallen asleep long ago and were now tingling with pain. Tucking her hands more firmly in her pockets, she turned to go. Though she still didn't have a resolution to her pressing dilemma, she felt slightly lighter.

She took a few steps before stopping abruptly. That man, the one standing barely fifty feet from her, looked awfully familiar. But, surely there were several people in D.C. with silver hair and a black coat and that ramrod straight posture and…

Oh God.

Jenny mentally slapped herself. How on earth could she have forgotten? He must be here visiting Shannon and Kelly.

All of a sudden, she found herself bombarded with a whole new set of questions. Should she go up to him? Would he want her intruding on his private time with his family? But, if she left now, would she ever get the chance to get him to open up? If she left now and he saw her, would he call her back?

Before she'd even had the chance to consciously acknowledge her decision, her feet were already propelling her toward him.

Coming to a stop just behind his left shoulder, she stood quietly. Though she knew with certainty he had long since heard her coming, she also knew he would greet her when he was ready. Or not…

About a minute later, his blue eyes were boring into hers.

"Jen," he stated simply.

She felt herself practically vibrating with tension. This was so not on the list of things they taught you in college.

"Jethro, I-I just wanted to thank—"

"You're welcome," he replied before she'd even had the chance to finish her sentence.

They once again stood in silence, gazing down on the two slabs to slate-gray stone that marked his painful past.

Unbidden, Jenny found herself whispering, "What were they like?"

oOo

The sunlight had just barely begun to peek around the gray clouds of what would surely be a gorgeous winter day, when all of a sudden, the peace and quiet of the morning was shattered by a piercing noise. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Kelly Gibbs shrieked, bursting into the room. Without a moment's hesitation, she leapt onto the bed and started bouncing excitedly on her parents' the only reply she received was a noncommittal grunt, she let out an exasperated sigh and repeated her mantra.

"Wake up!" she bellowed into her father's ear. He shot up immediately, eyes automatically sweeping the room. After confirming that the only danger within the area was his 7-year-old daughter, he flopped back onto the bed with a sigh, burrowing his head in the pillow in an attempt to stifle Kelly's giggles.

"Da-addy!" she singsonged, "You have to get up now! It's Christmas Eve!"

This time both parents groaned.

"Great," Gibbs muttered, "She woke the whole damn neighborhood up and it's not even Christmas yet."

"Shhh," Shannon whispered, "Don't let her know that! Think of how much worse it could get tomorrow."

Right on cue, her husband closed his eyes and pulled his pillow over his head.

"Go back to sleep," he commanded the little girl perched precariously on his stomach.

But that little girl merely snatched the pillow from her father's head and started whining anew.

"You need to get up and make waffles, Daddy. You promised!" Kelly's face was scrunched up in a perfect pout, her voice such a beacon of innocence that Gibbs immediately felt guilty, like somehow everything in the world was his fault.

Even if he had nothing to do with Kelly disrupting said world at just before six a.m. on one of the most prominent vacation days of the year.

"Oh, get up Jethro," Shannon finally sighed, yawning loudly before sliding rather ungracefully out of bed, almost winding up face down on the floor, "Make her her waffles. It's your own fault. You're the one who promised her yesterday."

"Yeah, but yesterday I didn't know I'd have to wake up at the crack of dawn so that this kid wouldn't supposedly starve to death," Gibbs grumbled. He, too, stumbled as he dragged himself out of bed.

Kelly, for her part, simply sat and giggled, clapping her hands occasionally at her parents' antics.

The minute Gibbs stepped out of the bathroom, she threw herself at him.

"Waffles," she demanded before sticking both her arms up. Her father obligingly swung her onto his shoulders, but not before giving her backside a swat. Her mock howls of pain could be heard by any and all who happened to be up at the hour.

After Kelly had gotten her waffles, the rest of the day had been spent in mad dashes to various stores for last minute gifts and the drafting of Kelly's letter to Santa, which she had, as usual, failed to complete early.

oOo

Gibbs shrugged as the memory of that long-ago Christmas Eve day faded from his mind.

"Normal. Shannon was your average military wife. Never complained when the Corps came first. And Kelly was just like every other little girl—small, bubbly, hyperactive."

Though his words were nonchalant and vague, Jenny could see the hint of a contented smile on his face as he thought of his family and knew that, to him, they were much, much more. That didn't come as a surprise to her. What did, however, was her reaction to that thought. He'd obviously loved his first wife and daughter more than anything else. And, though they were long gone, Jenny was ashamed to note that she was jealous.

She was jealous of a woman that hadn't been alive for almost twenty years.

Suddenly, she realized that maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all. All she wanted to do was go home and curl up in a ball and cry. Not for the fact that Shannon and Kelly were still the driving force in Gibbs' life, but because she could have had that too. She could have had the beautiful, over-energetic daughter and a lifetime of Christmases spent Gibbs-style.

But all she'd had to look forward to for the holidays was a huge, empty house and a visit to the local graveyard. Could life get anymore pathetic?

She was unaware that she'd begun shaking until an arm came around her shoulders and held her tightly.

"You okay, Jen?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm fine," she replied stonily, trying desperately to stop her body from trembling.

"Totally fine," she repeated.

"C'mon," Gibbs said as he led her to the gates, "I'll drive you home."

"B-but your car…" Jenny stammered, unable to stop her teeth from chattering. Why was she so damn cold all of a sudden?

"It's fine," he told her firmly, "I'll come back and get it later."

She didn't question him again as he slid into the driver's side of her car, peeling out of the parking lot and expertly navigating his way through the mid-morning traffic at a stomach-churning speed.

oOo

"Here," Gibbs said, unceremoniously handing his boss a cup of burn-all-the-skin-off-the-roof-of-your-mouth coffee as he sat down at the kitchen table next to her.

Jenny hesitantly took a sip and promptly sputtered.

"Th-thanks."

"Uh-huh." Gibbs took a large gulp from his own cup, not seeming to notice its bitter flavor or the way it must have burned while going down his throat. Jenny winced.

"Goin' somewhere?" Gibbs asked after a few moments.

"No…?"

"No decorations," Gibbs said gesturing with his coffee cup, "No tree. No presents piled up in a corner."

"Haven't had much time," Jenny mumbled, staring down into her coffee, "I've got a ton of paperwork to fill out before—"

"No, you don't," Gibbs interrupted.

Jenny looked up angrily, "And how the hell would you know, Agent Gibbs!"

Gibbs just shrugged. "Don't."

He met her eyes over the rim of his cup as he took another sip. After a brief staring match, Jenny felt her anger dissipate only to be replaced by the same sadness that had overwhelmed her earlier.

"You know," she said quietly, "I don't think this place has been decorated since my mom died."

Gibbs nodded as if he understood.

"When'd she die?" he asked casually.

Jenny's mouth had opened to answer before she closed it again, the political side of her sensing a bargain beginning to unfold.

"I tell you…if you tell me one thing about Kelly," she offered.

"No Shannon?"

Jenny could feel her right eye twitching slightly. "Sure. If you want to."

Gibbs smirked. Damn! She'd been caught.

"Saw that, Jen," he said, but didn't elaborate. Jenny breathed a discreet sigh of relief as he seemed to ponder her request.

"She loved horses," he told her after a beat.

"When I was ten," Jenny shot back.

"Long time," Gibbs remarked, draining the rest of his coffee before scraping his chair back from the table and standing up. Jenny merely nodded and watched him through her bangs as he rinsed his mug out in the sink.

All too suddenly, he was beside her.

"You sure you're okay," he murmured.

"I'm fine," she said as she rose from her chair a tad more gracefully than he had, intent on showing him to the door.

The moment she was fully standing, she realized her mistake.

He'd been standing closer to her while she was sitting than she'd anticipated. Much closer. So close that when she stood up there was barely an inch of space between his body and hers, and that was with her back digging painfully into the edge of the table. As the seconds ticked by, Jenny was horribly aware that all she had to do was lean forward just slightly and she'd be flush against him.

Looking up, she saw that Gibbs was staring down at her with his most impassive expression, almost like he was waiting for her…

Slowly, she lifted one small hand and laid it on his shoulder. Millimeter by millimeter, she felt herself tipping toward him.

Suddenly, her phone rang, shattering the moment. Jenny blinked several times, freezing in mid motion before gesturing hopelessly at the phone on the counter. Taking the hint, Gibbs took two steps back, leaving her with large enough path to cross the room without being forced to share body space.

After ensuring the caller that no, she was not interested in changing cable companies, she turned back to a rather amused looking Gibbs.

"Well, ah…" Jenny trailed off and ran a hand through her hair, "I guess you'll be going then."

"Looks like it," Gibbs replied, making no move toward the door.

"Right," Jenny nodded.

They both stood and stared at one another for another minute, neither taking a single step in the direction of the front door but both feeling slightly awkward with the room's tension.

Both spoke at the same time.

"Do you want me to help you with—"

"Do you think you could help me with—"

"Decorations," they finished, this time in unison.

oOo

It was almost eight hours later before Jenny's house had been transformed into a winter wonderland magical enough to rival the ones of her childhood. Fake ivy dotted with sprigs of holly trailed down the banister, candles in old, slightly tarnished silver candlesticks gleamed on every end table, wreaths and chains hung from lampshades and chandeliers, and the tree stood proudly by the fireplace in the living room, almost seeming to sag under the weight of hundreds upon thousands of lights, garlands, and ornaments.

It was more beautiful than she could ever remember it being.

Jenny flopped down on the couch, utterly exhausted. The past few hours had been among the most tiring and entertaining she'd had in…well, a long time. She hadn't even realized how much she'd missed this until Jethro had stubbornly dragged her up to the attic, not content with the few boxes of lights she kept in a downstairs cupboard. Of course, once he was there, he'd insisted on looking through every box and they'd wasted over an hour flipping through her old yearbooks and completely disarranging several years worth of carefully preserved elementary school artwork that she hadn't even known she still had.

And now, after the job had finally been completed, she was sitting and waiting for the man she'd known for almost ten years to finish stuffing the last of the empty boxes into a hall closet so she could drive him to the cemetery to pick up his car.

The man she'd known for almost ten years and hardly knew at all.

Jenny fiddled with her necklace as she realized that, after today, he knew almost everything there was to know about her, including her exploits as a third-grader and exactly how many clubs she'd been a member of in high school, but she still knew nothing more about him other than the fact that his daughter had liked horses.

A quiet voice interrupted her cerebral ramblings.

"All done here, Jen?"

"Mm-hmm," Jenny said, standing up quickly, "It all looks so beautiful. Thank you, Jethro."

Gibbs didn't answer. His gaze was fixed firmly on the pendant still in her hand. Reaching out, he gently removed her hand from the stone and replaced it with his own. Turning it this way and that in the light, he examined it carefully.

Letting it drop after a moment, he made sure he caught her eye before saying, "It looks pretty on you."

Jenny could feel herself blushing but chose to ignore his comment. "It's exactly the same as the one we saw. Where did you find it?"

"Mentioned it to a friend," Gibbs said with a slight wave of his hand, as if it was no big deal, "He said he'd seen it somewhere. Showed me a picture a few days later, looked familiar enough, so I bought it. Figured you wouldn't mind too much; nine years late ain't that bad."

Her laugh seemed to reverberate throughout the entire house.

"Nope," she agreed, still smiling, "Ain't that bad at all."

Aimless chatter stemming from the subject of the necklace and onto memories of Europe passed the time from when they left Jenny's doorstep to when they arrived at Gibbs' car. Parking smoothly behind it, Jenny cut the engine and turned to face her former partner.

She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear nervously before clearing her throat.

"Um, Jethro, I was thinking that since the house is looking absolutely gorgeous and I really can't stand to let it all go to waste, that…maybe, I could call a few people over tomorrow night and we can all…well, I don't exactly know. But since its probably only going to be your team and Abby and Ducky and Palmer, we should be able to come up with something. Anyway, I was wondering if—"

"Maybe," Gibbs interrupted. Jenny smiled gratefully. Thank God one of them had the sense to cut off her stuttering before she said something completely idiotic.

Gibbs returned her smile before opening his door.

Just before he could slam it shut, however, Jenny called out, "Thank you again, Jethro."

Peering back into the car, he saw her once more playing with her necklace. Reaching across the passenger seat, he grabbed her hand and pulled it toward him.

Looking her directly in the eye, he said, "No, thank you."

Then, ever so deliberately, he brushed his lips over her knuckles, keeping his gaze locked firmly on hers the entire time.

Before she could fully comprehend what was going on, he'd let go of the door he'd been holding open with one foot and was already striding to his car. He unlocked it quickly before starting it up and pulling out of his parking space, definitely slower than the speed he'd been going at earlier that same morning.

With a grin, Jenny started her own engine and raced after him…in the opposite direction of her own home.

oOo

"Oh, come on Gibbs," Agent Jenny Shepard whined, "I'm not a probie anymore. I think I can handle being undercover for one night without blowing the whole damn mission!"

"Jenny!" her partner exploded, "Not the point! We're not just dealing with one 'bad guy' here. Ya think Morrow would send us all the way across a goddamn ocean if it was just one guy?! We're here for a reason, Jen. L.A., Nashville, D.C., London, and now Paris—these are all connected!"

"Wow, you must really think I'm an idiot," Jenny spat, sitting down on the bed to fix the buckle on one strappy heel, "In case you haven't noticed, I worked the scene with you in D.C. and I read all the damn files you practically threw in my face! More than once! I. Know."

"Which is exactly my point," Gibbs hissed, "You are not going out there unprepared."

"I'm not," Jenny replied archly, "You're going to be there the whole time, breathing down my neck, making me feel nervous about every single glance every single person in the entire place is giving to another person, being—"

"We need a code." Gibbs interrupted her, stopping at a mirror to straighten his tie roughly.

"Okay…"

"Alright," he said facing her, "So, we're supposed to be a couple, right?"

"Right."

"So, whatever we do has to look normal, right?"

"Right…"

"So, think Jen!"

"I am!" Jenny protested, hopping up from the bed and pacing around the room. "Okay, so what if a gesture with a glass means 'this person looks suspicious' and—"

Gibbs cut her off. "Too obvious."

Jenny bit her lip then offered, "Rearranging silverware? With the table we have reserved, we should be able to point a knife at anybody in the room and not have it in a position that looks too weird."

Gibbs nodded, "Good. What about when we separate? You're at the bar with someone who looks like a potential suspect and you want to call me over, or vice versa."

"Tap the countertop near your drink twice," Jenny answered promptly.

"We need to get out of the building fast?"

"Touch your hand to your knee."

The two exchanged scenarios and signals for the next ten minutes before Jenny threw her arms out with gusto.

"Brilliant!" she exclaimed, "That's anything we could possibly ever want to 'talk' about."

"Not quite," Gibbs told her, "One more."

He smiled as his partner's nose crinkled slightly. He could practically see the wheels in her head turning as she tried to figure out what she could have missed.

Finally, she sighed, "Just tell me Gibbs. I really have no idea other than 'I have to go to the bathroom'."

"Sometimes, undercover's go wrong," Gibbs lectured, "I need you to be able to trust my judgment on a moment's notice if we have to wing it."

"Okay," Jenny said.

"You have to promise to do everything I tell you to do," Gibbs warned her.

This time, Jenny hesitated a moment before answering.

"Promise," she finally told him with conviction. The look of excitement that had been in her eyes not twenty minutes ago was now replaced with a grim understanding.

"So, Boss," she said, trying to sound cheerful, "What'll it be?"

Gibbs crossed the room to where she was standing. Meeting her eyes, he reached out and grabbed her hand. Then, ever so deliberately, he brushed his lips across her knuckles, keeping his gaze locked firmly on hers the entire time.

"And that means…"

"Follow me."


	7. A Christmas Gift

**A Christmas Gift**

**by Ncisali**

_for TVLadyBug

* * *

_

It was to be their first Christmas as a married couple, Jenny had spent the last few weeks thinking about what would be a suitable Christmas present for her husband Jethro. In the end, after much deliberation, she had come up with an idea and with the help of Ducky had made the purchase, which was now hidden in the spare room at the back of a cupboard.

Jenny was sitting on the sofa listening to the radio, checking and signing off case files, while Jethro was down stairs in the basement. Although he normally spent his spare time working on his boat, Jethro was, in fact, working on his Christmas present to Jenny, he was making her a jewellery box, the work was a little more intricate than he was used to but he was very pleased with the result. He had finished carving her initials on the lid and was now applying the third coating of varnish, it would be finished tomorrow. He had with Duck's help purchased an antique emerald and diamond necklace, which he would place in the box before wrapping it.

Jethro was smiling to himself as he tidied up his tools and walked up the stairs to find Jenny. He stood in the doorway of the lounge and looked at her for a few moments before speaking,

'Ready for bed?'

'More than ready,' Jenny replies as she puts the files away in her case.

As they prepare for bed, Jenny is chatting about Christmas, 'I'm looking forward to Christmas lunch at Ducky's, and he's promised a typical English Christmas dinner.'

'I'm looking forward to Christmas evening at home, with you, alone, just me and you,' Jethro replies as he leans towards Jenny to kiss her.

She returns the kiss while thinking of another Christmas present she can give Jethro.

The next day was Christmas Eve; Jethro's team did not have an active case but had been investigating an unsolved cold case, which they had reopened. Abby had been re-testing some of the forensic evidence and they had come up with a couple of new leads.

Jenny had allowed staff that were not on call or working on an active case to go home at lunchtime. She wandered down to the bullpen before she left the office herself to talk to Jethro,

'Why don't you let the team go home now, there's nothing that can't wait until we're back in the office.'

Jethro looked up, 'No, I just want to follow up this lead, we might be able to crack the case today, if it comes to nothing I'll send the team home.'

'Fine, I'm off now, I'll see you later,' Jenny replies.

At home, Jenny gets out the present she has chosen for Jethro from the spare room – it is an antique sword used by a marine non-commissioned officer in the 19th century- Ducky had been invaluable in tracking down the item.

Jenny wraps the present in it's box and places it under the tree they have put up in the lounge. She notices a present there already; she smiles to herself, as she has no idea how Jethro managed to place her present from him there without her noticing.

The other present she has for Jethro, she places in the bedroom, she hasn't wrapped it but she places it in her bedside cabinet with a grin on her face.

This evening she had invited Tony and Ziva to join them for dinner; McGee and Abby would be travelling home to their families. Jenny went downstairs to start the preparations before Jethro arrived home.

Meanwhile, Jethro was getting out of the sedan with Tony, walking towards the front door of a house where a witness that Jethro wanted to talk to again lived. He knocked on the front door but there was no answer, he knocked louder shouting,

'NCIS, can we talk', he turned slightly to motion to Tony, at the same time two shots rang out blasting through the door and hitting Jethro in the chest. Jethro falls backwards and Tony immediately withdraws his gun from his holster listening for sounds from inside the house and at the same time dragging Gibbs away from the entrance, out of the line of fire. Moments later Tony hears a third shot from inside the house and then silence, he takes out his phone calling for an ambulance and back up, and tries in vain to stop Jethro's bleeding.

'Boss, Boss, you gotta stay with me,' Tony is pleading with Gibbs to remain conscious while pressing down on the wounds.

Gibbs eyes are flickering but Tony is insistent, 'Boss, you gotta stay awake, don't close your eyes, Boss we're going to Ducky's tomorrow remember, you and Jenny and me and Ziva.'

At the mention of Jenny's name Jethro tries to talk to Tony but is unable to form a sentence, Tony catches just the one word 'Jen…'

Jethro is finding it difficult to breathe, Tony can hear his boss's breath coming in short shallow gasps, and Jethro loses consciousness just as the ambulance and McGee with Ziva arrive. The EMTs quickly assess Jethro hooking him up to oxygen before loading him in the ambulance. The technician works on stopping the bleeding as the ambulance speeds to the hospital.

Tony, McGee and Ziva carefully enter the house. They find just the one man inside who appears to have committed suicide. Tony indicates that Ziva and McGee should begin to process the crime scene before stepping outside, he knows he needs to phone Jenny right away and he rings her number on his cell.

'Tony' Jenny answers immediately

Tony hesitates for a moment and Jenny immediately gets that awful feeling that something is wrong.

'Tony…is Jethro…', Jenny cannot complete her question.

Tony answers quickly , 'He was shot, he's on his way to Bethesda, I'll get your driver to pick you up and take you there, I'm on my way there now.'

'How bad?' Jenny continues, her chest feels tight, she's in a panic she's scared and thinking the worst.

Tony picks up her distress but is not feeling too good himself, 'You know the boss, nothing hurts him.' He is trying to be positive but Jenny knows that because Tony is not giving any good news Jethro must be seriously injured.

'I can't lose him now Tony, not after everything, I need him.' Jenny is on the verge of tears, trying to hold herself together but knowing if she loses Jethro now her life will be over. She loves him more than she thought possible, he is her husband, lover, friend, colleague and soul mate.

'Your driver will be there soon.' Tony says into the phone while indicating to Ziva who has joined him outside that she should get Jenny's driver to Jenny right away. McGee is also outside and he is phoning Abby and Ducky knowing they will both want to go to the hospital.

'I'm going to the hospital', Tony says to his colleagues, getting into his car and driving away.

Jenny grabs her coat and handbag and walks outside to wait for her driver, he arrives almost immediately and she is soon on her way to the hospital.

Her one and only thought is 'Please don't die Jethro.' As she arrives at the hospital she runs to reception asking for details of her husband.

'He's in ER,' the nurse responds.

'I need to see him.' Jenny replies but just at that moment a doctor appears from ER. The nurse looks up at him, 'this is agent Gibbs wife.'

'Ah, how do you do Mrs Gibbs, we've just taken your husband into surgery.'

'How is he, is he going to be alright?'

'He's been seriously injured, we won't be able to give a proper prognosis until after the surgery.'

'But I want to know that he's going to be alright.' Jenny's voice is getting louder and it looks as if she is about to breakdown. The doctor gently takes her arm and leads her to a waiting room making sure that a nurse comes with him.

'Is there anyone who you'd like to call to be with you,' he asks. At that moment Tony with Abby and Ducky come in.

Jenny looks up at Ducky , 'they won't tell me anything Ducky.' Ducky squeezes her hand and then accompanies the Doctor out of the waiting room hoping that he will be able to get some information on Jethro 'doctor to doctor'.

The nurse has sat next to Jenny and is explaining that someone will keep her informed of Jethro's condition and as soon as he is out of surgery they will let her know.

Jenny is sat next to Abby, in shock, as Ducky re-enters the room. Tony has gone in search of coffees.

'What did he say Ducky?'

'Jethro is in a critical condition but he's remarkably fit for a man of his age and they hope that once he's through the operation he'll make a full recovery.' Ducky has not lied but he did not add that the doctor also said that Jethro only had a 50:50 chance of surviving the surgery.

McGee and Ziva have joined the team after processing the crime scene waiting for news of Jethro. The wait is a long one, Jenny can hear Christmas Carols being sang outside, she and Jethro had planned to go to midnight communion that evening but now her thoughts were only of Jethro. She was thinking not only of the things they had done together but also of the things they had planned to do, not just for this holiday period but also for the rest of their lives. She was offering prayers up to God, 'please let him live, he's a remarkable man, an exceptional agent, NCIS needs him, his team needs him, I need him, just please let him live.'

After four hours the surgeon comes in and tells the group that Jethro is out of surgery and in ICU. Jenny immediately stands up 'I want to see him.'

'Fine, not every one together though just two at a time and only for a few minutes.'

Jenny and Ducky walk together to the ICU as they enter the ward Jenny falters. Jethro looks lifeless, he is hooked up to many tubes and wires, she can hear the beep of the heart monitor. He is being ventilated, his chest is bare apart from the wires and tubes and the large dressing covering his wound. Jenny pulls up a chair and sits down nothing or no one is going to move her until Jethro wakes up. She touches his arm because his hand is attached to many tubes and leans forward to softly talk to him.

Ducky leaves after a few moments to report back to the team, they decide to stay the night in the waiting room.

All through the night Jenny talks to Jethro

'I love you Jethro, you know what I'd planned for tomorrow.

Something special.

I bought you a present to help us, not that you need much help.

I didn't wrap it, I put it in my bedside table.

As soon as you're better we can use it.

I love you Jethro.

Don't leave me.

Please get better.

You know what you wanted to do when we got back from Ducky's.

I have it all planned.

I love you.

I need you.

Remember that book of poems I read to you by Dylan Thomas, 'Rage, Rage against the dying of the light', you've got to fight, you've got to live.

I have honey dust for tomorrow and a feather to apply it.

I love you.

As Jenny talks to Jethro, she continually smoothes his brow and kisses his cheek, not once since she sat down on the chair did she stop touching him. The nurses have worked quietly checking his vital signs throughout the night.

She is still talking to him when the doctor comes in early on Christmas morning; he looks at the chart and talks to the nurses.

'Mrs Gibbs, your husband has had a very good night, we may be able to take him off the ventilator this afternoon if he continues to improve.'

Jenny is unable to say anything but just looks at her husband and kisses his brow, she whispers to him as she bows her head 'I love you Jethro.'

A short time later the rest of the team file in, the doctor has passed on the good news and although looking tired there is a sense of elation surrounding them.

Jenny was still sitting in the chair with her hand on Jethro's, she smiled as the team walked in.

'The doctor thinks they can remove him from the ventilator later today.'

Everyone decides to remain at the hospital through the day, knowing Jenny will not leave Jethro's side until he regains consciousness.

Ducky is sat on the other side of Jethro's bed and is talking to him telling him of one Christmas he'd spent in the highlands.

It was not until later that afternoon that Jenny felt Jethro's fingers move under hers,

'Jethro, Jethro, you're going to be fine,' Jenny is looking directly into Jethro's eyes when he wakes.

As Jethro opens his eyes he is looking straight at his wife and he sees her returning his gaze, he can't move or speak but at that moment he doesn't care the look his wife is giving him is a look he has seen before, a look he never wants to forget.'

Jenny looks into her husband's eyes, her breathing has quickened, the joy and relief she now feels is indescribable, what she sees in her husbands eyes she'd been scared she would never see again, his love for her is something she feels she can touch it is so strong.

The doctor interrupts them,

'Agent Gibbs I'm going to remove the tube now,'

Jethro reluctantly turns from his wife to look at the doctor, he prepares himself for the removal of the ventilation tube and soon the nasal cannula is fixed up by the nurse.

Jenny is gently squeezing his hand and he weakly returns her touch smiling at her. As soon as he is able, he says the words Jenny has been waiting to hear for the past 24 hours.

'I love you Jen.'

Jenny smiles back at him and lets the tears fall that she has been holding back these last few hours.

'Don't cry Jen, I'm not going anywhere', Jethro whispers.

Ducky had left the room a few minutes before to tell the team who are now all pouring into the room wishing their boss a 'Merry Christmas.'

Jenny is rather protective of Jethro and realising he is very tired, tells everyone to go home, as it looks like they wanted to stay for the duration to convince themselves that Jethro was really alive.

'You should go home as well Jenny,' Ducky says, 'Get a good nights sleep and return tomorrow.'

Jenny nods and sits down beside Jethro, his eyes are closed but after a few moments they flicker open.

'Jen, is it still Christmas?' Jethro asks

'Yes Jethro, for a few more hours'

'Did you open your present?'

'No, I wanted to wait until you were with me?'

'Why don't you bring the presents in tomorrow, we'll open them together.' Jethro knows Jenny loves Christmas and wants to see her face when she opens the present he has given her.

Jenny nods and watches over Jethro as he falls asleep.

A nurse comes in to check Jethro and talks to Jenny.

'He's sedated Mrs Gibbs and won't wake up until tomorrow morning why don't you go home.'

Jenny nods and gets up from her chair.

She doesn't go outside but walks to the hospital chapel. She enters the small room and thinks over the meaning of Christmas, a time when people give and receive. Jenny now thanks God for giving her the best Christmas present ever, her husband's life.

Jenny does not go home but returns to her husband's room, she does not want him to wake in the morning alone, she wants to be there for him, for always.


	8. Merry Christmas

_This story is dedicated to Mrs. Scott 323!_** Hope you enjoy it. I know that I have personally loved all your stories, so I have a lot to live up to in writing this for you.**

**Merry Christmas!!!! From TVLadybug :)

* * *

  
**

Jethro Gibbs really didn't have any use for Christmas any more. He used to – Christmas used to have meaning and be an incredibly special time for him and his family. But that was rare since he lost the two most important women in his life – Shannon and Kelly, his first wife and daughter. After they were gone, the holiday just didn't hold as much joy for him as it used to. Usually he was just consumed with grief and thoughts of what he lost. Even his team did not crack the dim hold of the holidays, not even the reappearance of Jen. She was back in his life, but it was not the same. Christmas still held so much sadness for him.

Jethro did remember one year that was almost bearable. It was 1997 and he had a new partner – Jennifer Shephard. Even when he first met her, Jennifer did not fit. That year she was Jen. She was his probie – just learning the job. That year, he spent Christmas Eve and Christmas working a case with his team. Just thinking back on it made him smile a little. He remembered that she had mixed up the crime scene photos and was looking at everything flipped, which posed quite a problem when she was trying to figure out how the crime happened. When he went over and silently fixed her mistake, she looked up at him from her seat, her eyes so wide that he was sure they would come right out at him. She looked petrified, so he let her off without so much as a head-slap, knowing her apparent fear of him would be enough for now.

The next Christmas he remembers, was quite different, for a few reasons. Jen was now Jenny. Not at work – there she was still Jen, but at home, oh – that was something different. Now, instead of only seeing her in the context of a case, he got to see a whole new Jennifer – the one that silently had worked her way into his life and home. In one year, she had gone from his subordinate, to his lover, and to be honest, his friend. That is an honor that Jethro did not bestow on many, and it takes a lot to get that point. That year, they spent all day holed up in his basement. Well, most of it. As he thought back over the holiday, he also remembered some very, very special memories. Memories that still affected him in ways he was embarrassed about. They spent a slow morning in bed, and then after they had spent the day in the basement, they warmed up by a fire… and then spent a couple hours curled up in front of the fire, just enjoying each other.

Jethro tried to snap out of the memories – because he knew what was coming next. The year after Jenny. The year after she had been erased from his life. He'd had a long time with her – longer than other women. He generally did not let women truly into his life since Shannon, but with Jenny, it had been different. In those years, she had been fully integrated into his life. She was there long enough that when she was gone, there was a hole in him, and in his home. Some days Jethro almost wished he hadn't known what it was like to love and be with Jenny – that way he wouldn't feel this loss. But as soon as that thought entered his head, he quickly negated it. His life had taught him that he didn't always get to keep the good things in his life, but they still were priceless.

And now Jennifer Shephard – Jen, not Jenny, was back in his life. She had waltzed into NCIS a couple years ago, and settled herself back in – this time in charge. She was so different, but still so familiar. Jen had this air of confidence, but still… every now and then… he saw his old partner in there. Even though she had to take her stands against him, citing the fact that she had a whole agency to look after, if anyone ever dared to challenge him, she was behind him in full force. He liked to think that it wasn't only as a director, but as his partner. There was still something about working cases with her. When she tried to overstep her boundaries as Director of NCIS, he saw his old partner coming through. His personal hypothesis was that part of her still wanted to have that connection to him, and that she still wanted to have that agent side of her. As much as she protested, she loved to get into the grind of the cases, and always kept a hand in the day-to-day aspects of NCIS.

Unfortunately, Christmas was approaching fast, and it looked as if he would be alone again. Jethro made a pact with himself that year after Jenny left. He wasn't spending Christmas with anyone again. It just plain hurt too much after they left. And they always left, in one way or another, for one reason or another. And as strong as he was, as pulled together as he was, he was over it. He knew he couldn't handle, and quite frankly didn't want to handle, loosing anyone else from his Christmases. This is why even his team didn't get to spend Christmas with him. Cases didn't count – that was business. But personal was out. And it wasn't that he didn't get asked. Every year, it was always the same. Sly looks, pity in their eyes. Abby's invite to a party. Tony or Ziva wanting to get drinks. Ducky asking him to his house, or better yet, to visit with his mother. But every year the answer stayed the same.

* * *

Jethro didn't remember how it happened. He didn't remember how it could happen. After he was so adamant about his rule to keep Christmas all to himself, something had obviously changed his mind. He just couldn't remember for the life of him what. All Jethro knew at the moment was that this year he broke the pact. And all for the lovely red-head currently asleep in his arms. Jethro felt her breathing slowly as she lay there sleeping. And even though his right arm was falling asleep, he wouldn't move her for the world.

He just stared at her, aware that if she was awake, he would never be this honest. His eyes didn't hide the love he felt for her, and as strong as that was, he knew if she was looking back at him, he would shutter his feelings from her. Jethro looked at the red hair splayed across his arm and chest, and everything felt right with the world.

He gazed at her pale skin and the speckling of tiny freckles all over her skin – in places that he should not know about as her subordinate. Her skin was glowing – he supposed it was the after effects of the night they had. And then he gazed into her eyes… that green got him every time. It was dark at times, and then when the sunlight caught her eyes, they always changed to an emerald. He loved staring into her eyes. He just didn't expect her to be awake. And speaking…

"Jethro. Jethro. JETHRO"

Gibbs almost fell out of his desk chair. His desk chair in the bullpen at NCIS. He looked around shaken and confused. Where was his soft bed, and where were the green eyes that were staring up at him full of mischief. Because the green eyes staring at him now were not happy and full of a secret between just the two of them. They were the very stern eyes of someone who only considered him her agent and they were certainly not looking at him full of the love and joy they were a few minutes ago.

"Jethro, are you okay?" Jen looked so confused standing there, and he knew he had to answer her or he would be facing a lot more questions.

"Um, yeah. Did you need something?"

"Just an update on your case, if you're done catching up on your sleep, Agent Gibbs. I trust you _are_ still working on the case." At his look of frustration, she cut him off before he could say anything else. "Ignore that last dig Jethro. I'm sorry – you've been here for 3 days in a row. I haven't even seen you go home once. You are certainly entitled to at least a little rest, no matter how uncomfortable it looked. Take a minute, and meet me up in my office. I have coffee…"

And with that, Jen turned and went back up to her office. Jethro knew that she threw in the coffee comment so that he'd join her – knowing him, he would have ignored her request until the case was complete.

* * *

Jenny closed the door of her office, and leaned against it. What was it about this time of year that got her so worked up, especially where one agent was concerned. She had been snapping at him all week, and she knew it had to stop. Not because it was unkind, but because before long, Jethro was going to figure out that something was bothering her… and then he wouldn't give up until he discovered what it was. And that was a price she couldn't pay.

Because every time she looked at him, all she wanted to do was throw herself at him and try to recreate Christmas past.

As she was growing up, she never really had a wonderful holiday season. Her mother tried to make it joyous, but somehow, something always got in the way. And after her father died, she didn't really even try any more.

But in Jenny's mind, there were some shining Christmas moments that broke through. She remembered the year she was "stuck" on a case with Agent Gibbs. Oh goodness, that year she couldn't stop thinking about her boss as much more than a boss. It even got so bad that she was mixing up evidence and changing around crime scene information – all because her thoughts were consumed with the fantasy of her and Gibbs thrown across one of the desks, and doing very non-agenty activities.

And then there was the year after that – when her fantasies had come true. And Jethro and she were all-consumed with each other. It was so much better than her dreams had been, and she wanted it to never stop.

But then she made a mistake. The worse mistake she could have made. She left. She left him. She had her reasons, and they furthered her career to a place she couldn't have imagined, but that didn't change the facts. She left him. And she had regretted it ever since. And ever since she came back, all she wanted Jethro to say to her was…

"JEN. I've been calling your name for the past minute. Just where were you?"

"Umm." Jenny stumbled. "Uh, doesn't matter. What matters is Petty Officer Samson. Have you gotten any more leads on her case. This is hitting too close to home at the holidays. I'd really like to have her back to her husband and children by Christmas."

"Don't you think I want that too Jen? We are working around the clock to try to figure out who abducted her. Abby is still running some of the latest evidence we found and hopefully between her and McGee, they can give us another point of reference to go with. As soon as we get close, they seem to move her to a new location." As Jethro finished filling her in about the latest case that was keeping them buried under work, Jenny was impressed with the passion he was showing. She knew that all the agents in their field were not always this adamant about their work. Even through all the years he had worked on these cases, none of them ever got less important to him. Yet another reason why she still loved him…

"Jen, why are you still here? You know we can handle this without you. Go home, go to the Christmas Eve service, relax, and enjoy the holiday. This always seemed to be a very special holiday to you. So go – enjoy it." Just as Jenny was about to give her input on how he seemed to be dismissing her, his phone rang. As he answered "Gibbs," she knew he was out the door.

"I'll update you later Jen, if you need anything else."

And he was gone. Too late to even hear her protests that she _wanted_ to be here, that she _wanted_ to be involved. And even though she wouldn't say it out loud, she wanted to be with him. As she looked around her empty office, she noted with a half-smile that at least he took the large thermos of coffee with him as he rushed out the door. But then she took stock of her office. How bare the desk looked, without even a single photograph of family, her walls filled with plaques and awards, obviously an office of someone solely focused on their career. Even the meager Christmas decorations did nothing to change the fact that her office was all business. The hard truth was that she didn't want to just be focused on that – she wanted to have a life full of friends and family, but she still didn't want to give up her career either. Oh, a hard decision that she would put off yet another day. With that, she sank down into her chair and pulled over the top file from a pile about the fall over. If her agents were out working on Christmas Eve, then she could too.

* * *

Jethro pulled up to Jenny's house at close to 3:00 on Christmas morning. He knew that he should have driven home and gone to bed. He knew that a director of a federal agency didn't need to know that a case had wrapped up and turned out successfully. But somehow, his gut told him that this director did need to know. For some reason, she needed that. Disappointment filled him, as he stared at her dark house. Obviously she had gone to sleep, not needed to hear about the case as much as he thought.

As he pulled back out of her driveway, instead of heading home, he decided he'd just go ahead and finish up the paperwork at NCIS. That way he could send a notice to his agents not to come in. He told them as they finished up the case earlier to go on home, and deal with the details in the morning. Now he decided that he'd give them their Christmas presents in the form of a rare day off.

Jethro pulled into an empty spot and on autopilot went to his desk. He completed the case file within an hour, since on this rare case, Tony, Ziva, and McGee had seemed to keep up on their notes. Instead of putting it on Cynthia's desk, he figured he'd put it where Jen would see it as soon as she got in. He knew this was an important one for her, and was glad they found the Petty Officer in time to let Santa bring her home to her girls.

But as he stepped into her office, instead of finding things as they should be, empty and dark, he found the opposite. The Christmas tree was still lit up, as well as a lone lamp near Jen's sofa. Jenny was asleep on her sofa and she had a plethora of files around her. Most of them were signed off on, but it seemed that she still had a long way to go. She must have worked the whole time he was on the case, for she really had made a lot of progress. He glanced over at the file she was holding, and froze. It did not belong with the others. Instead of a current case that needed to be signed off on, it was an old case. Quite old in fact. And dated Christmas Eve of the first year she was an agent. As he realized that it was the case he had just been thinking of earlier today, he also realized that Jenny's eyes were open – and staring at him.

As he looked into her eyes, he saw Jenny. The Jenny that was always there for him as an agent. The Jenny that patched him up after a close-call with a knife. The Jenny that worked her way into his life all those years ago. The Jenny that made love to him so many nights when he needed to hold someone close. The Jenny that sparked such a fire in him that even after all these years, he still wanted her as badly as the first time he saw her. Jenny, his Jenny.

And as Jenny stared into his eyes, she saw them soften. She knew that this was the Jethro she fell in love with. He never really changed, but there was a distance since she returned, and she didn't know if she would ever be able to broach that distance. Tonight, on Christmas, it seemed that she was given the gift of a second chance with him. And she wasn't going to pass it up.

Before Jethro knew it, Jenny was in his arms, and it felt so right. He didn't have time to stop and examine it, didn't even know who made the first move, but all of the sudden they were kissing and it felt so good. He ran his arms up and down her back and she felt so natural there. And in the next few moments, as they re-united on the couch and floor in her office, the movements felt as if they were what he was always supposed to be doing. As they came together, he knew that this Christmas would be the one when he received a most special gift, and he would never let her go again.

* * *

Jethro didn't remember how it happened. He didn't remember how it could happen. After he was so adamant about his rule to keep Christmas all to himself, something had obviously changed his mind. He just couldn't remember for the life of him what. All Jethro knew at the moment was that this year he broke the pact. And all for the lovely red-head currently asleep in his arms. Jethro felt her breathing slowly as she lay there sleeping. And even though his right arm was falling asleep, he wouldn't move her for the world.

He just stared at her, aware that if she was awake, he would never be this honest. His eyes didn't hide the love he felt for her, and as strong as that was, he knew if she was looking back at him, he would shutter his feelings from her. Jethro looked at the red hair splayed across his arm and chest, and everything felt right with the world.

He gazed at her pale skin and the speckling of tiny freckles all over her skin – in places that he should not know about as her subordinate. Her skin was glowing – he supposed it was the after effects of the night they had. And then he gazed into her eyes… that green got him every time. It was dark at times, and then when the sunlight caught her eyes, they always changed to an emerald. He loved staring into her eyes. As he realized this was no longer a dream, he knew he had a choice. And instead of closing her out, he let his guard down. Just for an instant. He wanted to see her reaction to all she could read in his eyes. She didn't say anything for a moment, and he wondered if once again he was going to be left alone on Christmas. He stared down into her eyes, with the sparkling lights of the tree reflecting in them, and knew he was taking a risk. But just as he was going to pull away, and find a way to recover his heart, Jenny answered his unspoken sentiment.

"I love you too Jethro. Merry Christmas."


	9. Secret Santa Story

**Secret Santa Story**

**by Mrs Scott 323**

_for ilovenascar_

_

* * *

_Christmas Eve

She'd been watching his house since this morning. Waiting for him to go to work, find some kind of crime scene or anything else that would take him out of the house for a few hours. Finally at ten he stormed out of the house, his side arm still in his hands when he quickly made his way to his car and drove out of the driveway. She smiled and rubbed her hands, to get the feeling back in them. She knew she had to work fast. There was no time to spare.

Jenny crossed the road and walked around the house, if she remembered correctly, he had a spare key hidden right.. there. Thanking him mentally for not changing the hiding place she walked to the back door and entered his house.

"Now if I was Jethro, where would I keep the decorations."

On an impulse she walked up the stairs, and then another set of stairs right to the attic. She was lucky, the first thing she saw when she opened the door was two boxed marked Christmas decorations. They were covered in dust, obviously, they hadn't been used in quite some time. Jenny carried the boxes down the stairs and set them in the living room.

She went back outside again, walked down the block to her car where she'd left the tree. She parked her car on his driveway and set the tree inside. Now the fun things could begin.

* * *

It was already very late when he returned home, the case had taken longer than he'd expected. Especially since his team had been off for the holidays. They all went home to spend Christmas and in Ziva's case Hanukkah with their families. Ducky hadn't tried to convince him to spend Christmas Eve with him and his mother, and for that he was glad. His friend knew that Christmas was still a very difficult time for him. It was one of the days in the year that he missed Shannon and Kelly the most. But not just them, Jenny too.

He'd prepared himself for a night in his basement with his bottle of bourbon but when he entered through the front door the smell of pine greeted him.

And he definitely didn't remember setting up a Christmas tree.

He followed the smell and it led him to his living room. There it was, decorated and with presents underneath: a Christmas tree. He walked closer, wondering who'd put it there. Then he noticed the ornaments in the tree: there were some old ornaments, obviously made by a child. He smiled, Kelly's hand made ornaments were always something. When her teacher had told her to try to make a reindeer, she'd made a snowman, when they told her to decorate some balls with snowflakes, she'd made three with all of their names on it: Mommy, Daddy and Kelly. All of them were there.

But there were some new ones too: Tony, Ziva, Abby, Tim, Ducky, Kate and Jenny. He took the last ones in his hands, glad that whoever did this, had included them too. Then he heard someone walk up behind him.

"Thank you."

He turned around and was greeted with a face that he'd never expected to see again. Eyes he'd never thought he'd see again.

Jenny.

Jenny with two mugs of hot chocolate in her hands.

"Merry Christmas, Jethro."

He wasn't sure if he could believe it. Not sure if he should be angry, upset or happy. In a daze he walked over to her. He raised his hands his fingers tracing the outline of her face and putting a lost lock of hair behind her ear. She smiled at him. Leaning slightly into his touch. Or was it just his imagination?

"Want some?"

He accepted the mug. Opening his mouth to ask the most important question.

How was this possible?

She raised her fingers to his lips. "I know I owe you an explanation. But for tonight, can't we just be?"

He was torn, but the pleading look in her eyes told him that whatever it was, it would be a conversation that would be very difficult for the both of them. He took her hands away from his mouth, turned it around to press a kiss on the back of her hand. He led her to the couch, and they sat down. Jenny leaned on his shoulder and he raised his arm to make it a bit easier for her to snuggle against him.

And even with all the questions that were still left, they both enjoyed their quiet evening together, watching the Christmas tree. Telling stories about Christmases past. The ones they'd spent when they were little, the ones they'd spent together and all the other ones they'd spent apart.

He felt that her head was leaning slightly heavier onto him and he turned his to look. She'd fallen asleep. Smiling he gave her forehead a kiss and pulled her a bit closer, enjoying the feeling of her against him once again.

It certainly was a happy Chirstmas.


	10. NCIS Christmas Carol

**NCIS Christmas Carol**

**by ilovenascar**

_for Jennyngibbsbelong2getha

* * *

_

Jethro Gibbs watched as the all-so-familiar redhead got on the elevator and then stopped it between floors. "Jen…"

"The team, your team, is having a holiday party tonight at my house. You are invited. And you WILL be there," Jennifer Shepherd said in her best 'director' voice. "So suck it up and have a good time. Don't spoil it for them."

"I'm not coming, Jen."

"You'll be there. Seven-thirty sharp. In a suit and tie. I know you own them; I've seen you in them from time to time. And your Secret Santa person is Tony, so I suggest you start shopping now." She pressed the button to make the elevator start moving again, folding her arms, a sure sign that the conversation, as she saw it, was over.

"The hell I will," Gibbs said as the elevator stopped and he got off.

"Why don't you just say Bah Humbug, Jethro, and get it over with?!?" Jenny called after him, causing people to turn around and stare. "What?" She turned around and went back upstairs.

He groused all the way to his truck. "Who the hell does she think she is? Just because she's my boss, doesn't mean she's my boss…Come to think of it, she always did this. Heaven forbid I should try to tell her what to do, she gives me that 'go to hell' icy glare…unless of course she wants me to tell her and then I never seem to tell her the right thing…" He slammed the door to his pickup and drove off.

The roads were slushy from snow and ice and he was ticked off beyond belief, not a good combination. He went home the long way to avoid the traffic at the mall and stopped short, seeing kids on their sled.

"What are they doing out here unsupervised?" He would have never let Kelly do such a thing and things were easier back then, simpler.

Distracted, he missed the patch of ice that sent him off his course, straight into the immovable object of a tree.

* * *

"Gibbs." He heard a voice, familiar although he hadn't heard it in awhile, of one of the women in his life. It wasn't Shannon, wasn't Jenny or Ziva, and then he recognized the smell of the perfume.

"Katie." He opened his eyes to look at the woman who had been one of his favorite agents, one of only two female partners. "I must be going crazy."

"No more than usual," she said with the same friendly smile she'd always given him. "You hit a tree. You have to stay here for awhile."

Gibbs tried to clear his mind. "The kids. Are the kids okay?"

She nodded. "One of them went to tell his dad. Help should be here soon."

He looked into her eyes again, kind, friendly, sweet. He remembered how crazy Tony had been for her but, by the time he was ready, he'd waited too late. "Am I dead?"

She shook her head. "No. Not yet."

He groaned, not liking her answer. "Then why are you here? Why am I seeing you? You can't be here if I'm not dead."

"Make a girl feel welcome, why don't you?" She looked at the blood coming from his head and knew she had to hurry. "You know the story, A Christmas Carol?"

He nodded and regretted it, reaching up to feel the blood on his head. "Yeah. I used to watch the Disney version with Kelly every year."

"Let's just say I'm Marley." She kissed his forehead. "Make the right decisions, Gibbs. The team still needs you down here for awhile." She was silent for a little while. "Listen to your famous gut and make the right decisions. I know you can. We **all** have faith in you." She paused. "And tell Tony…tell him I hear him." As quickly as she appeared, she was gone.

* * *

Gibbs woke up when he heard sirens, causing his head to throb even worse. He could hear people talking outside, trying to open the door. "Call NCIS," he said, hoping they could hear him, that he didn't sound as weak as he thought. "Call NCIS."

* * *

When he woke again, he was on the ambulance and smelled another familiar perfume, one that brought tears to his eyes. He didn't even have to open them up to know who was sitting beside him. "Shannon."

"I'm here, Jethro. I'm here." She touched his forehead with her fingers.

"Am I dead yet?"

She closed her eyes and then opened them again. "Not yet."

"Then you must be part of that Christmas Carol thing Kate was talking about. I remember everything. You don't have to show me."

"Do you remember or do you REMEMBER?"

He groaned. "I'm too tired for double talk, honey."

"Then watch…and listen."

* * *

Within an instant, he found himself transported back to Pennsylvania, riding on a sled made out of one of his mother's favorite cookie sheets. They had a real Christmas tree and his dad had allowed him to cut down one for himself as well. He remembered the jean jacket he'd worn that looked exactly like his father's. At that stage, he would have given anything to be exactly like Jackson Gibbs. He remembered his mother baking for weeks on end, taking dishes to the church for the poor people in the area, pies she sold in the store to get 'her own' Christmas money, and sugar cookies sprinkled with cinnamon on top. Most of all, he remembered the warmth from the old-fashioned wood fireplace they kept going all winter long. That scent had always reminded him of home.

Holding hands, he then found himself and Shannon outside base housing. Inside the house, he saw himself putting the star on a tree that wasn't as tall as he was, decorated with homemade ornaments and popcorn. The house was old, but the repairs were done to make his family safe and warm. Shannon was sitting in the rocking chair he'd made for Christmas but given her ahead of time, rocking Kelly who was bundled in a blanket his mother had made to keep her warm. Money had been tight, but there were presents under the tree, mostly homemade like the piece he'd made to replace her nativity scene that had gotten broken in their latest move, and there was food on the table. They were all there, safe and alive; even then, he hadn't understood how special that was.

"Okay, I get it," Gibbs said, turning to look at his wife, moving hair from her face. "What's the point?"

"The point is that just because Kelly and I are gone, you've used it as an excuse to push any family away from you. Your dad, your team, Jenny…"

He frowned. "You know about Jenny?" He wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

Her only answer was to transport him one final place, a small apartment in Paris. There were candles in the window and all around the room. There wasn't much furniture in the one room, a bed, a chair, and a small black and white tv. It wasn't the Ritz Carlton by any means, wasn't even traditional; they'd had steak and asparagus, drank wine, and opened one present a piece. He watched as he put the necklace around Jenny's neck, kissing her as he did so, remembering how happy he'd been then, not only that he was able to give her what she'd admired so much, but because for the first time since Shannon and Kelly, he had a home, had a family.

"She left that necklace on her pillow the night she left." Gibbs paused, his voice shaking. "I fell asleep and, when I woke up, she was gone. Left a letter and that necklace."

"She loved you, Jethro," Shannon said softly, touching his shoulder. "She still does."

"She has a heck of a way of showing it."

Shannon took a breath, her eyes connecting with his. "Why did you get married so many times?" He couldn't admit the reason, but he saw it in her eyes. "And the last one…Stephanie? Not only was she contending with my ghost, but Jenny's as well. Same with that Army woman."

"Are you saying I'm not an easy person to love?"

"No." She paused. "I'm saying that you're not over her. You have to learn from the past, Jethro, or you're doomed to make the same mistakes." She kissed his cheek and then she was gone.

* * *

"No, Shannon. Don't go. Not again," he whispered her name once more. "Shannon."

"Awake, talking. Pulse stronger, heartbeat more regulated." A medic covered Jethro with another blanket, seeing he was shaking, thinking it was from the cold, not seeing the tears of heartbreak running from his closed eyes. "He was in that truck for awhile."

"Five minutes ETA. We're almost there," said his partner from the front seat, taking a left turn to avoid some traffic.

"Did anyone call NCIS…whatever that is?" The first medic spoke again.

"A federal agency. They found a badge; evidently he's one of the agents. Someone's calling their director now," the second responded, his eyes still focused on the road.

"Jenny…" Gibbs whispered again, her name on his lips seeming to take some of the pain away.

* * *

He woke back up in the emergency room, doctors around him, Jenny next to him, holding his hand. "Jethro…" She whispered softly, bending down to kiss his forehead where he'd hit it during the crash.

"This is some more of that dream, isn't it?"

She nodded. "Afraid so."

"You know, I've been in a wreck, saw two dead women, and been dragged back in time against my wish. Can we get on with this?"

"You'll never learn."

Within a heartbeat, they were standing in Jenny's living room, a fire going in her fireplace, the smell of something Noemi had cooked sending waves of heaven through the room, and his team, plus Abby, talking as they drank some form of alcohol he couldn't discern through the glasses.

"See? I told you they wouldn't miss me," he said, turning to look at his partner. "And I'm not the only one who didn't come. Ducky's not here either."

"We'll get to that. Look closer, Jethro."

He studied his people, listening to what they had to say, the looks on their faces. "They're not having fun."

Jenny shook her head. "Ziva's father is in Tel Aviv, celebrating Hannukah with what's left of her family. Tony's mother is skiing in Aspen and he doesn't know where his dad and stepmother are. The only two women he cared anything about celebrating with won't be here; Jeanne's disappeared and Kate…This will be the only _family_ holiday party they have…and their family's not all there."

He watched Abby who kept one eye on the door at all times. "He'll be here. I know it. I can feel it. He wouldn't stand us up. It's too important."

McGee looked at her. "Abs…"

"He's never come for a team party yet, Abby," Tony said softly. "And he told everyone, even the director, that he wouldn't be here." He paused, trying not to act too broken-hearted. He was the leader, the one everyone looked to when Gibbs wasn't there.

The spirit Jenny walked upstairs to her bedroom where Ducky was standing in the doorway, watching as Jenny put the last touches on wrapping a present. "I thought you had Ziva's all set," Ducky said quietly.

"I did." Jenny paused. "Jethro drew Tony's name. I didn't want him to end up with nothing."

Ducky nodded. "Who drew Jethro's name?"

"I'm not sure. I probably shouldn't have even included Gibbs in this. I just wanted…"

"Just wanted what, Jenny?" Ducky said, sitting on the edge of the bed to look into her eyes.

"It doesn't matter, Ducky." She paused. "Do you think John Wayne movies will be all right? DiNozzo loves movies and everyone ought to have a little of The Duke in their lives. Besides…Tony and I always said how much he reminds both of us of John Wayne."

Ducky knew Jenny wouldn't finish her sentence and just nodded. "I think he'll like them." They walked downstairs.

The phone was ringing as she walked by her office and, despite herself, she went to grab it. When Tony heard the phone clatter to the floor and the sound of a woman crying, he got up, hurrying to the office, the others following, to see Jenny sitting in her office chair, Ducky's hands on her shoulders, the phone receiver on Jenny's desk. Ziva walked to hang the phone up and Tony looked first at Jenny, then Ducky, and last Jenny again. "What?"

"Jethro's been in an accident," Ducky finally said.

Gibbs turned and looked at the spirit Jenny. "What was she about to say?" It sounded funny talking third person to Jenny about Jenny.

Jenny studied him, her eyes flashing. "You mean, you don't know?" Gibbs slowly shook his head. "She can have anything she wants in the world for Christmas, anything at all. She just wants you, the one thing she thinks she can't have."

* * *

There was a flash of light and then he woke up to Ducky standing beside his bed. "Okay, this is getting confusing. Are you Ducky or are you spirit Ducky?"

"Have you learned anything, Jethro?" Ducky asked, his eyes connecting with his friend's.

"Great. Another spirit." He paused. "Okay, let's get on with this. Show me what the future is. Maybe then I can get some sleep."

"With or without?" Ducky asked intensely, but cryptically.

"With or without what?" Gibbs asked, having the need to rub his forehead, but knowing it would hurt more than help.

"With or without?" Ducky asked again.

"Okay, without, I guess."

He was transported first to see glimpses of people, but in strange places. Tony was getting drunk in the small room of a Navy ship. Ziva was dressed in traditional Israeli garb, standing in a Tel Aviv synagogue between her father and a man Jethro didn't recognize who was obviously her husband. McGee was alone in his apartment, drinking and writing another novel. Ducky was sitting at home, all alone, no decorations of any kind, his mother or friends not to be seen. Abby was home in New Orleans with her parents and brother, signing away, but without laughter or even a smile.

"Where am I? Where's Jenny?" Gibbs asked, a sense of foreboding in his heart.

Finally, they were at a graveyard, like in the story, Ducky standing between two graves. "There's no Tiny Tim in my story, Duck," Gibbs said, wanting to walk away, but not being able to before he saw the dates on the two tombstones. "2008. That's next year."

Ducky nodded. "Jenny was killed in a standoff in California, trying to save your life. After her death, the new director split everyone up, sent Tony to a ship, Ziva back home, and McGee to computer crimes." He paused. "That was in May. You died in September. The official story was you died on a case, but, without your team, without Jenny, you took risks you shouldn't have in a firefight…"

Gibbs closed his eyes. "Jenny…dies?"

Ducky nodded. "Her last thoughts were of you; her last conversation was about how much she still loved you. But, yes, Jethro. She dies."

Gibbs felt himself reeling from the loss, the shock, feeling as if he were going to be sick. "You said there was another way, another scenario. What is it?"

He found himself in a house he didn't recognize, but he recognized the warmth from the fire as well as the people he was there with. Tony and Ziva were holding hands when they thought no one else was looking. Ducky and McGee watched smiling as Abby talked animatedly, a mile a minute, with a smile bigger than Texas. He watched as the future him brushed his lips against Jenny's hair, as red as ever, and wrapped his arm around her waist. He saw a little redheaded girl sleeping contently, the noise and chaos of her extended family part of her everyday life. The pictures on the mantle let him know that the little girl was his, his with Jenny, and that the house was their home, together. In the middle of all that, he felt a peace he'd thought could never happen again, a contentment and a love that made his eyes water.

_I want this,_ Gibbs thought to himself. _Dear God, I want this._

* * *

Gibbs felt a soft kiss on his forehead and smelled a familiar perfume, seeing the most beautiful woman in the world as he opened his eyes.

"Merry Christmas, Jethro," Jenny whispered, tears in her eyes, feeling exhausted and stiff from where she'd sat all night by his side.

"Is this a dream?" He asked slowly, pain and stiffness coming back to him in waves.

"No," she spoke softly, shaking her head. "You were in a wreck. You hit a tree, totaled your truck. You've been out for awhile." She took a breath, her voice shaking. "We weren't…we weren't sure you were going to make it there for awhile. You had us fooled pretty good this time."

He ran his hand up to her cheek. "Jenny, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She closed her eyes, holding his hand to her cheek for a moment, and then opened them again. "Hey, never apologize, remember?"

Gibbs smiled, nodding, his eyes connecting her own. "The party. What about the party?"

"We hadn't started yet when I got the call. Everyone's been up here all night." No one had wanted to go home so they'd all spent the night sitting in hospital chairs, waiting. "We'll celebrate later. We have more to celebrate now."

"Hey, boss," Tony said from the doorway, poking his head inside, having come to check on Jenny again. "Welcome back."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs spoke. "I have to tell you…" He remembered Kate's words. "I talked to Kate."

Tony nodded, having no doubt that if his boss said he'd talked to Kate, he'd talked to her. "Oh, yeah?" He pretended his interest was a lot less than it was. "What'd she say?"

"She said to tell you she hears you." Jenny and Gibbs watched as Tony's face changed, making him seem a little younger than he had, less stressed. They couldn't know that Tony still talked to Kate when he was lonely or upset, couldn't know that he'd wondered if she could even hear him, if she even cared, and that those simple words made all the difference in his world.

Tony nodded, biting his lower lip. "Thanks, boss," he said, almost unheard, turning and leaving.

Jenny studied her partner. "What went on while you were away?"

Looking into her eyes, he told her the story, pausing at the end before asking, "Do you think I'm crazy?"

She shook her head. "No, Jethro. No more than usual anyway," she added a hint of teasing on the end.

"I want that…I want that Christmas. With you and our little girl and our people…" Gibbs paused. "I want to be a part of the Christmas party this year."

Jenny nodded. "Okay. I'll arrange everything." She bent down and kissed his forehead again. "You just rest." She went out into the hallway and, together with his family, formed a plan.

* * *

Despite what their plans might have been, Abby, McGee, Ducky, Tony, and Ziva were all standing in Jenny's living room when she helped Gibbs inside. As soon as they walked into the room, lights came on, from the fire, from the tree, from candles, enough that the whole room was illuminated without lights.

"Christmas," Gibbs spoke quietly, in awe.

"As long as you rest," Jenny said, mindful of what the doctors said. She'd seen his truck and she knew how lucky they had been, how close he had come to leaving them for good.

Gibbs sat in a chair, Jenny sitting beside him, the team forming a circle, Ducky bringing Gibbs and Jenny plates of the food the rest of them had been nibbling on as they waited. A mix Christmas CD was on in the background, containing everything from Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley singing old classics to the Chipmunks and some of the bands Abby liked.

"Tony, you want to play Santa?" Jenny asked quietly. Ordinarily, she would have suggested games or conversation first but Gibbs was still tired and stiff; she didn't want to make him stay up too much longer.

"My hat, please," Tony said, bowing slightly to Ziva, who put a Santa hat and beard attached with a string, after popping him with the string. "Ooh, someone's on my naughty list!" He gave her a mischievous grin and Jenny tried to stifle a laugh, watching as he continued to ham it up on his way to the tree, but then got serious again as he passed out the presents.

Ducky opened his first, some books that he'd been looking for, wanting to read, and a tape recorder. "I thought that you might want to write your own book one day," McGee started. "You've got so many stories…" He had no doubt that it would be a best-seller.

McGee looked inside his gift bag, finding CDs of familiar bands and a strip of pictures from one of those photo booths. He swallowed a lump in his throat, remembering the concerts he'd been to over the years with Abby and the day they'd taken the pictures. He wordlessly leaned over and kissed her cheek as she blushed.

Abby unwrapped a tiny box to see a beautiful Celtic moonstone necklace, looking at Gibbs and then at Ducky, not sure which one had known her well enough to know how beautiful she would think the piece. She saw the smile that Ducky was trying to hide, pleased with himself, seeing the grin of amazement on her face. She threw her arms around him, hugging him like a daughter would hug her father.

Tony took the movies out of the bag, seeing The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rio Bravo, El Dorado, True Grit, and The Cowboys. Gibbs took a sideways look at Jenny who kept a straight face and he felt more than a little guilty that he hadn't gotten a gift for DiNozzo, but couldn't have picked a more perfect present for the younger agent, as addicted as he was to movies.

Gibbs didn't even have to unwrap his, the only gift items on his bottle of bourbon were a ribbon and nametag. "I noticed you were running out," Ziva said, not telling him the real reason, that she and Tony had seen the names they'd both drawn and consulted with each other to buy corresponding gifts.

Ziva opened hers and had to look away, her eyes connecting with Jenny's as she fought hard to keep the tears at bay. "They are perfect. Thank you." Only her friend would understand that, as much as she loved America, she missed the sights of her home as well. The photographs looked so real that it was almost as if she were looking out a window in Tel Aviv.

Jenny nodded. "I knew you had to have them." She could certainly understand being homesick. She opened her present, the last one of the group, to see two movies, a blanket, and popcorn.

"You don't already have those, do you?" Tony asked, looking at the DVDs of two movies he knew were Jenny's favorites.

Jenny shook her head. "No. I don't." Casablanca reminded her of her time in Paris, how she and Gibbs had watched the movie on the little black and white tv every time it came on. "Thanks, Tony."

They spent a few more hours, eating, talking, and laughing, until Gibbs could no longer keep his eyes open. The team split up and Jenny covered her partner with her new blanket, kissing his cheek. Tony and Ducky stayed to help her clean up and then left as Jenny stretched out on the sofa to get some sleep herself.

"Je t'aime, mon chéri. Joyeux Noël," she whispered before drifting off.


	11. The Art of Christmas Pudding

**Disclaimer- They are not mine!! There are so many reasons as to why but here is the main two; If they were mine all of the lovely bills that seem to constantly be arriving in my mailbox would be paid the same day they arrived! And second we would have Jenny still along with a little Tiva baby on the way!! But I'm allowed to dream right?!**

**A/N- So I had a million and two christmas ideas running around my very overworked brain but nothing stuck as much as this did (Also once I had the first part written it wrote itself basically) So NickyK you were my secret santa person and I read over your stories (Which rock Btw!) and some of the ones on your fav list and thought that you would like this, I hope you do. Merry Christmas everyone :D**

**The art of Christmas pudding.**

**by Jennyngibbsbelong2getha**

_for NickyK

* * *

_

Earlier in the week:

Abby had come bouncing out of the lift carrying what looked like one of Ducky's specimen trays filled with ripped up white pieces of paper, When she saw that all of the team including Jen were in the bullpen she smiled and hurried over creating so much noise in her platform boots that by the time she had reached the middle of the bullpen seconds later she already had everyone looking at her. Gibbs and Jen had stopped mid conversation coffee cups held in mid sip and were both looking at her with mild concern and amusement. Tony was just looking at her wondering how many Caf-Pows she had managed to knock back this morning alone. Ziva kept well out of Abby's way knowing if she said anything Abby would most likely launch herself at Ziva for a hug that could even make the assassin wince, McGee who knew Abby the best clearly wasn't thinking as he stood up and asked the obvious question, "Abs what are you doing with that?" He asked motioning to the tray.

She rolled her eyes impatiently "It's got all of the jobs that need to be done for Christmas dinner" She explained quickly not bothering to breathe between words.

McGee raised on eyebrow and asked in his slow calm tone that was usually reserved for Abby when she was on such caffeine highs as this "Why...?"

She pushed McGee out of the way and shoved the tray to Jenny and Gibbs mouthing 'Pick one' To them both before she turned around to look at McGee "Cause McGee this year Ducky can't cook like he usually does and this is just a really cool way of dividing up the jobs" She explained

When Jenny heard the word cooking she almost choked on the breathe she was taking and shot a look at Gibbs suddenly hoping that the small piece of paper in her hand said anything even decorations instead of cooking.

"Oook Abs this sounds like fun bring that tray over here and let me pick one!" Tony exclaimed rubbing his hands together crossing his fingers that he would be in charge of photos or music 'The possibilities' He mused to himself studying carefully the pieces of paper sitting in the silver tray finally picking one when Abby started to whine "Tooony come on, Ziva and McGee still have to pick there ones!"

"Damm" He exclaimed when he saw his job.

Ziva raised her eyebrows smirking at Tony's obvious dislike of the job he had been given "Problem Tony?" She teased

He shot her an evil look "No Ziva, Every thing's fine" He shot back

She smiled and nodding knowingly glancing at the piece of paper that she had just picked smiling to herself when she saw the option that she had chosen.

Abby bounced her way back to McGee waving the tray with the last remaining piece of paper to him "All yours Timmy" She told him happily smiling expectantly as she watched him pick up the paper and groan slightly as he read it wondering if it was somehow possible for Abby to have rigged who picked what.

"Who's idea was this again Abs?" He half moaned

"Well...I was talking to Ducky about how it wasn't gonna be the same without him cooking, and that Ziva makes really good meals but not good dessert, No offense Ziva" She quickly threw over her shoulder not wanting to upset of offend the assassin.

Ziva simply nodded knowing it was true. Tony smirked at her and mouthed something, Ziva scowled at him and threw her hole punch in his direction. "ZIVA!" Tony yelped rubbing his upper arm where the hole punch had hit.

"Dinozzo! David" Gibbs yelled wanting to hear Abby and wondering if he should be considering killing Ducky for this idea or restricting Abby's Caf-Pow intake for the next few weeks and trying to ignore his two agents bickering.

"Sorry Boss" They both mumbled shutting up and turning to look at Abby as she continued to explain

Abby continued ignoring Tony and Ziva's bickering "And then Ducky said that we should divide all the jobs up between us, but then we realized that some jobs people wouldn't want so then Ducky suggested a kinda Secret Santa way of dividing up the jobs and it was really cool and yea" She finished taking a much needed deep breath.

She then looked at the clock on the wall, "Whoa I better get going my babies will be ready to talk soon!" She exclaimed hurrying off to the lift.

Gibbs turned to look at his team and asked the question they were all wanting to "So what is everyone's job then?" He asked

Ziva held up her paper first "I'm cooking the main meal" She offered

Tony went next "I have to get the tree" He moaned slumping down slightly in his seat. Ziva smirked when she heard this "I'm sure you can handle carrying a little Christmas tree Tony" She teased him. Tony opened his mouth to shoot something back but Gibbs stopped him with a famous Gibbs glare.

McGee then piped up with "I'm in charge of taking all the photos"

Ziva nodded knowing that Abby must have somehow set this up cause she was always telling Ziva how much she loved the photos McGee took and how she thought he should take it more seriously.

"Jen?" Gibbs asked searching her face to see why she looked so annoyed when the main meal had already been assigned to Ziva.

"Dessert" She said shortly her tone leaving no room for questions. He nodded in understanding, He remembered all of Jen's previous attempts at cooking and none had been successful. He looked at her assuring her it would be ok, that he could help her if she wanted.

"What about you Boss?" Tony asked breaking the silent conversation that Gibbs and Jen were having with their eyes.

Gibbs glanced down at the piece of paper still folded in his hand and opened it smiling as he read it "My job is to make sure my living room is clear because we will be having Christmas dinner and exchanging presents at my place" He told them team.

They all then sat in the bullpen in silence wondering how Abby had managed to somehow get them all to pick jobs that fitted them well.

Ducky came up a few minutes later smiling at the silence of the usually loud and busy bullpen.

"I take it Abigail has been up and you have all been given jobs" He guessed breaking the almost gloomy silence.

Gibbs mock glared at Ducky then nodded "Yep she did Duck"

Ducky nodded "Did you all get jobs you hate?" He guessed trying to pin point what had the team so gloomy.

"I have to go get the tree!" Tony complained hoping for some sympathy.

But Ducky just smiled

"What is your job Ducky?" McGee asked

Ducky smiled his knowing smile "I am in charge of sorting out the music Timothy"

McGee nodded

"What about Palmer?" Tony asked crossing his fingers that the autopsy gremlin had a awful job also.

"Mr Palmer is in charge of bringing the Christmas crackers, along with party hats"

December 23rd.

She had just pulled another folder of the slowly shrinking pile that sat on her study desk, She had taken her work home since it was Friday and she figured if she got this done then she could have one day to attempt making a dessert and if it didn't work out she would still have time to arrange for Noemi to make something or to buy something from the bakery for the Christmas meal that the whole team would be having at Gibbs house. Her cellphone vibrated on her desk and she sighed rubbing her temples thoughts of killing the person that dare ruin what precious time she had off running through her mind before she even looked at the call display screen to see who was calling her. She sighed once more glaring at the screen, before reaching out and picking up her phone when she saw it was a text message her eyebrows shot up especially when she saw the name Jethro pop up. 'When did he learn what a text message was, let alone how to type one' She thought to herself flipping open her phone and pressing the read button. As the message opened she tried to think why he would be texting her instead of ringing her but then she saw the message and realized that he was a smart man, smarter than she gave him credit for. If he had rung her suggesting what he had text her she would have yelled then hung up on him but she couldn't do that through text, The message said;

'I'll be at yours in 15, We are going to make dessert TOGETHER'

'Trust Abby to show him how to use capitals also' she thought grumpily to herself, Crossing her arms even though he wasn't there to see her anger she knew he would know her reaction without being there to see it. He knew she couldn't cook, Dessert may not be the same as main meals but it still involved mixing ingredients and using the oven in some cases. Her doorbell ringing pulled her away from her childish thoughts of revenge on him which did include getting him terribly drunk and doing things to his precious boat. The bell rang again and she sighed deeply wondering what he would do if she left him standing out in the cold but then thoughts of a earlier conversation of how he wouldn't be above kicking her door in made her stand and hurry towards the front door calling out that she was coming as he banged on it again and called out "Jen if you don't let me in, I will break this door down!

"I'm coming Jethro!" She exclaimed as she pulled the door open and stood starring at him arms crossed, eyebrows raised ready to fight but he wasn't willing to even engage in her childish urge for a fight instead he pushed the rather large but very beautiful bouquet of roses and lilies all linked and twisted around each other into her arms as he stepped into her house heading straight for the kitchen calling after him "Are you going to come Jen? Or do you want to stand at your door all night?"

She rolled her eyes and pushed closed her front door and padded down the hallway towards the kitchen. She raised her eyes at him then the roses and lilies looking at him asking why without saying a word. He shrugged his shoulders, "Thought you might need some cheering up after the damage you did to your poor door the other day Jen" He teased her.

"You're the one that damages my 'Poor door' Jethro, not me" She told him trying not to smile cause he really was cheering her up and she was more than willing to forgive him the second she saw the flowers he had bought for her but at the same time she wasn't going to let him off the hook that easy.

She then placed the bouquet on her bench and walked around Gibbs pulling open the cupboard beneath her sink and crawled almost all the way in searching for the vase she wanted to place the roses in

"You lost or something in that cupboard Jen?" He asked her starring at her ass that was now wriggling further into the cupboard as she searched in the very back for something.

She could feel his eyes on her and smirked to herself "Stop starring at me Jethro and help me with this" She told him trying to pull out the large heavy vase that used to always sit in the foyer full of flowers when she was a young girl.

Between them they managed to get it up onto the bench. Jen stood with her hands on her hips frowning at the vase as she tried to figure out if it was best to fill it then move it or move it first. Gibbs couldn't help but laugh at the look upon her face, Hearing his laughter she spun around glaring at him "And what is so funny Jethro?" She shot at him.

He held his hands up shaking his head trying to hold the laughter in now "Nothing Jen, Now are you going to put them in some water so we can get started or what?" He asked her motioning to the flowers he had bought deciding it was better to distract her entirely from him laughing at her.

"Mmmm, I can't decide where to put them though" She admitted to him

He rolled his eyes at her smiling at the same time "Gee Jen if I had known how much of a problem the flowers would cause I wouldn't have bought them, I would have gone with a bottle of bourbon at least you don't have to think about where you would put it"

Now she rolled her eyes and shot back at him "I was just wondering the same thing myself Jethro!"

After a few more minutes of good natured fighting and teasing between the two of them and then Gibbs walked over to the bags that he had bought with him and pulled out a thick recipe book along with cream, yogurt, marshmallows and boysenberries so many more things that soon Jen's whole bench space was covered in ingredients.

She looked wide eyed at the large range of ingredients that he was pulling out of the bags.

"Why do we need so many?" She asked him worried about his answer

He looked up at her after pulling the last bag of icing sugar out of the bag and couldn't help but laugh at her wide eyed expression of shock, amazement and fear.

"Cause we are making Ambrosia Jen and we need yoghurt, cream, boysenberries and marshmallows" He explained holding up each item as he said it before placing it back down. He then bent down and bought a huge glass dish onto her bench top.

"And what is that for?" She asked him her hands on her hips looking at the bowl.

"It is for the ambrosia to be put into Jenny" He told her a smile tugging on his lips at the expression on her face.

"And what is wrong with one of my bowls?" She demanded sweeping one hand to the cabinets behind her that held many bowls just like the one that he had bought.

"Nothing is wrong with them Jen, but this is a special one" He told her moving around till he was at her side.

She opened her mouth to argue the point but when she saw the look in his eyes she knew better than to push it.

"Ok. So what do we do first?" She asked him pulling her hair up into a ponytail and folding back her sleeves to her elbows.

He smiled at her excitement and picked up the cream "We whip this up. Do you have a mixing bowl and a beater?" He asked her.

"Ahhh..." She trailed off as she spun around to the cupboards above the bench and a few minutes later had everything that he had asked for set out in front of them.

Gibbs poured the cream in and set up the beater then held it out for Jen. She looked at him with wide eyes, "Jethro when I said I don't bake I wasn't joking I have never even used that thing before!" She exclaimed pointing to the beater as she looked between him and it. He smiled softly "The Director of NCIS scared by a hand held beater Jen?" He teased her.

She shot him and a death look and through narrowed eyes reached for the beater "I am not scared Jethro more...concerned that I may break it" She told him wiggling her fingers impatiently for the beater now wanting nothing more than to show him that she could use it. He shook his head though and moved behind her placing the beater in the bowl the grabbing her hands gently and placing them beneath his on the beater he turned it on a low setting at first and couldn't help but laugh softly as she jumped when it first started to mix.

"All done Jen" He told her turning the beater off but still not letting go of her hands. She turned slightly so she could look at him and smiled. "That was a lot easier than I thought" She admitted. He nodded then said to her,

"Now we add the yoghurt"

She reached for the large 2 liter pottle of boysenberry yoghurt and handed it to him. He shook his head and handed it back. "Dessert is your job Jen, I'm just helping you add it in" He told her.

She knew he was right and popped the plastic lid off and soon the yoghurt was added to the cream. She looked at him and without having to ask he silently handed her the marshmallows that he had been chopping up and she added them by the time she was done he then added the drained boysenberries and handed her a spatula "Now you mix" He explained.

She nodded and slowly moved the spatula around trying to get everything mixed in. After a few minutes of trying she knew that she was failing and glanced over in Gibbs direction once again without having to speak out loud she found him wrapping his arms around her and helping her stir the spatula through. Once they were done he pulled back and moved the bowl to the fridge. "See how easy that was?" He said to her.

She nodded "Thank you Jethro, I was just planning to get Noemi to make something or I was going to buy something. But this is much better" She told him smiling.

"Ah thats ok Jen, I thought you might need some help plus Abby did mention something about how daddy should help mummy out more"

She couldn't help but smile at the terms that Abby used for her and Jethro. "Still thank you, You didn't have to and the flowers really are beautiful" She told him.

Walking towards him meaning to kiss his cheek, She wasn't sure who moved him or her but she didn't care because when she felt his lips against hers nothing else mattered.

She bought his eyes to his and said softly her voice laced heavily with desire for him "Jethro" She half begged half teased him winding her arms around his neck and pulling his lips down to hers for a heart stopping kiss.

As they both pulled away breathless he leant his forehead against hers and looked into her own smoldering emerald eyes he leant down and whispered into her ear "I love you Jen" He told her pulling her in for another kiss and pushing her gently towards the wall but she pulled him towards the stairs.

Christmas Day:

Ding Dong, Ding Dong

Her arms were wrapped around his neck, One of his hands was tangled in her hair the other around her waist pulling her flush against him. Just as she brushed her tongue along his bottom lip. The bell rang breaking the silent spell that was cast upon them as it sounded again they jumped away from each other as if the people behind the solid wood door could somehow see what they had been doing.

"Trust them to be on time for once" Gibbs half growled to Jen resting his forehead against her missing the taste and touch of her instantly.

She smiled closing her eyes as he rested his forehead against hers "Its only cause Abby has been counting down for this since November" She reminded him gently as she pulled away and walked into the hallway heading for the front door to let the team in.

Tony wrestled in the rather large pine Christmas tree with the help of Abby, McGee followed through the doorway with his camera bag slung over one wrist and oven mitts covered his hands for he was carrying a large heated pot that contained one part of Ziva's meal, Ziva followed carrying a plate of lemon crunchy potatoes behind her trailed Ducky with his CDs in hand and last of all was Palmer carrying two rather large Christmas bags filled with Christmas crackers and the other was Abby's decorations.

"Where do you want the tree boss?" Tony called out from the lounge

"Anywhere you want DiNozzo, you're in charge of it remember" Gibbs answered him from the kitchen where he was helping Ziva put things into the oven.

Tony and Abby soon had the tree up and decorated, As did Ducky with the soft Christmas music that soon filled the room. McGee had been taking photos during the whole tree setting up process and was now sitting beside Abby listening as she told him about a Christmas party that she had been at the previous day.

Jenny came through and helped Abby set the presents under the tree as the men apart from Ducky helped Ziva carry everything from the kitchen onto the huge table that was already set up. Soon everything was in place and Ducky was carving the turkey as Jenny passed around the large platter of lemon crunchy potatoes Abby passed around the peas.

"Whoa Ziva! If I had known you could cook like this..." Tony said to her winking as she dug into yet another potato.

Ziva raised her eyebrows at him and casually played with her fork, Tony swallowed 'If she can kill me 18 different ways with a paper clip I wonder how many she can with a fork?' He mused to himself.

Once everyone had eaten it was time for dessert. Jenny nervously went into the kitchen and bought out the large glass bowl and set it down on the table, She handed the serving spoon to Ducky before sitting back down.

"This is really good Jenny!" Ziva said as she handed her bowl back to Ducky for a second serving.

Jenny blushed "Thank you Ziva"

"Where did you get the recipe?" Abby piped up "Cause McGee makes really yummy ambrosia but this is way better!"

McGee blushed as did Jenny.

"Ahh I had some help" She explained to Abby, who nodded happily as she cleaned her spoon.

"McGoo you big girl!" Tony exclaimed "You make pink puddings for our mistress of the dark?"

McGee blushed more "Its not like that Tony" He muttered.

"What is it like Problicious?" Tony asked the grin on his face huge.

McGee opened his mouth to protest but Gibbs cut him off.

"Present time" He announced not wanting to hear whatever reason McGee had.

McGee smiled gratefully at Gibbs as Abby bounced over to the tree followed by a very excited Tony.

Late Christmas night:

All the presents had been opened and Abby was curled into McGee's side in what looked like a very uncomfortable position, his arms around wrapped around her holding her so she didn't fall from the couch. Even Tony and Ziva were looking wiped out, Ducky had long gone home to his mother as had Palmer to his girlfriend. As Tony yawned loudly again Ziva shot him a death glare and Gibbs warned "DiNozzo"

"Sorry boss, I am just...yawn..."

"Tired, We know Tony you have been yawning for hours now" Ziva said annoyed with him.

Gibbs could sense that if someone didn't step in Tony would end up with a serving fork or worse through his arm.

"There are spare bedrooms upstairs, McGee are you ok to carry Abby up the stairs?" Gibbs asked the younger agent.

McGee nodded "Yep boss, I have done it heaps before....I ahhh mean..." He tried to finish realizing his mistake to late.

Gibbs cut him off "Tonight rule 12 doesn't matter McGee, Just take her up before she does permeant damage to her spine"

McGee nodded and picked Abby up and headed for the stairs. Gibbs then turned to Tony and Ziva, "I trust you two can find your way up without any help?"

They both nodded and stood up heading for the stairs once the room was empty apart from them, Jenny leant into Gibbs.

"Do you think they knew how this was going to end when they thought up this latest plan?" She asked him softly as they sat on the floor of his lounge both starring into the embers that were once a roaring fire. He pulled her closer to him breathing her scent in.

"Jen it was Abby and Ducky behind the whole thing what do you think?" He teased her gently smiling.

She smiled back at him and scrunched up her nose, "I think that we should stop thinking about it and that you should kiss me" She told him her eyes glittering

He rose his eyebrows "Is that an offer Jen?"

She shook her head and laughed "It isn't an offer its an order Jethro!"

"You know Jen, I have never been very good at following.....

She cut him off by reaching up and placing her hand over his mouth "Shut up" She told him then removed her hand and quickly silence his protests by crashing her lips onto his fighting him for control as he gently pushed her onto the rug and settled his body over her own.

**The End.**

**I hope you enjoyed it! Merry Christmas everyone :D xx**


	12. Marry Christmas

**Title: Marry Christmas**

**Author: NickyK**

**Summary: Jenny and Gibbs reveal their relationship to his team. Not a good summary. Sorry**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

_Secret Santa person: Crazy-prune

* * *

  
_

Jenny stood in front of the bathroom mirror putting the finishing touches on her make-up when strong arms encircled her waist, pulling her back against an equally strong chest. She sighed in contentment.

"Good morning," Gibbs whispered in her ear as he placed soft kisses on her neck.

Her hands rested on the arms encircling her and she smiled contently. "Good morning to you too," she murmured, angling her head to give him better access.

"So what's the plan today?" he asked between kisses.

"I'm….uh," her breath hitched as one of those kisses landed at a sensitive spot under her ear and she moaned.

Gibbs raised his head, a self-satisfied smirk crossing his lips. "What was that?"

Jenny glared at him through the mirror and he chuckled, the sound reverberating through her. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply as her body responded to the sound and to the hard body pressed firmly against hers. When she opened them, she knew from the look in his eyes that she wasn't the only one affected. Reluctantly she pulled out of his arms, knowing that if she didn't any plans she had for today would be greatly delayed. She faced him, putting her hands on his bare chest. A weak barrier and they both knew it, especially when her fingers started to caress the skin beneath her hands.

"Jen…" he growled.

"Right," she said sheepishly snatching her hands away. She cleared her throat, ignoring the amused look in his eyes. "I'm meeting Abby and Ziva to finish up my Christmas shopping for the party tonight, remember?"

He nodded, lifting his hand to brush her hair out of her face. "Yeah, I remember. Melvin going with you?"

She looked away.

"No, but I'll have Ziva."

"Not good enough," he said sternly. "I thought we'd settled this Jen. Ziva is going to be distracted by shopping, not looking out for you. I want Melvin with you."

"No," she said simply, then rushed on before he could speak. "Jethro," she said gently, taking his hand in her own. "I'll be fine with Ziva, you know that. Let's not argue about it. Please? Especially not tonight."

He gave her a long hard look before saying, "you'll be careful?"

She nodded. "I promise."

He leaned in to give her a chaste kiss on the lips and Jenny knew she'd won this round.

"You ready for tonight?" he asked as they headed back into the bedroom.

"Yes, although I think Abby already suspects."

Gibbs snorted. "I'm sure she does. Hell, Jen, I think the whole agency probably suspects you can't keep your hands off me by now."

"Hey," she said, punching him playfully in the arm. "I wasn't the only one groping like a teenager in heat in my office that night."

"Yeah, well, that's what you get for being so damn tempting."

She gave him an appraising look. "You're one to talk." she smirked. "So tonight then will be more like a confirmation than an actual surprise," she said getting back to their previous conversation.

"Pretty much," he responded, studying her as she slipped on her boots. "You okay with that?"

"Definitely," she said, standing and sliding her arms around his neck. "Because if Agent Quinn makes one more pass at you, I might have to show her just how good I still am with a dangerous weapon."

Gibbs eyes widened in surprise. "Agent Quinn? Really?"

Jenny chuckled and shook her head. Only Jethro Gibbs wouldn't know when a beautiful woman was hitting on him.

"You're oblivious, Jethro, but yes, really, Agent Quinn. Now, I've got to go or I'm going to be late meeting Ziva and Abby," she said grabbing her coat. "You'll pick me up at six right?"

"Yep." He followed her to the door. She was almost out when he grabbed her arm and pulled her back inside. He backed her up against the wall and took both of her hands and placed them above her head - all before she could utter a word. Leaning forward, he kissed her, deep and thoroughly, his mouth possessing hers until the need for air forced them apart.

"You don't need to worry about Agent Quinn, Jen."

Jenny wondered if she looked as dazed as she felt by the unexpected but not unwanted show of affection. "Duly noted," she told him.

* * *

The trio had been shopping for hours and as expected Jenny had been fending off probing questions from Abby for just as long. She was surprised that Ziva seemed to be fishing for information as well. Like she'd been doing for months now, she dodged their questions with vague responses. She really didn't mind the questions though - at least not this time - because she was still dubiously happy over the kiss that Jethro had planted on her before she'd left his house. It was still amazing to her that they'd managed to rekindled what they'd had in Paris and how easily they'd fallen back into the routine of being lovers -even if no one else knew. It scared her sometimes how good it felt to be with him again and how well it was going. For the first several months of their relationship, she'd been anxiously waiting for the other shoe to drop. So far, she was still waiting. After a couple of hours of more shopping and stopping at a coffee shop for a much needed fix of caffeine, the shopping was all done.

Ziva and Abby walked her to her car before heading for their own. It seemed odd that they were so concerned and she wondered suspiciously if Gibbs had said something to them.

Jenny glanced at her watch once again. The group was to arrive at her place in a little over an hour and she still needed to shower and change. She was excited about tonight. Even if everyone already suspected that she and Jethro were an item, it would be nice not to have to sneak around and try to hide her feelings anymore.

Not that she was doing a good job of that anyway, she thought.

Jenny pulled up to her house. Grabbing her things she hurried to the door . Hauling the bags up the steps she entered her bedroom and prepared to start wrapping her gifts.

An hour later, Jenny had gifts wrapped and under the tree. She replaced her blue jeans with a pair of black slacks and exchange the sweatshirt with a comfortable sweater. She was just coming down the steps when the door opened and Jethro entered.

"Hey beautiful."

She smiled. "Hey handsome."

She stepped into his arms and was treated to a long, deep kiss.

"Ummm…." she murmured when they broke apart. "Miss me much?"

"You know I did," he said and leaned in for another taste.

Jenny enjoyed the feel of his lips against her for a moment, drinking in the taste of him, enjoying the feel of his body pressed against hers. Reluctantly, she pulled back and out of his arms.

"We don't have time for this. We've have to set the food and drinks out before the others arrive."

Gibbs followed her into the kitchen and together they set out the appetizers and eggnog, along with juice and soda. Since everyone had to drive afterwards, no alcohol was included on the beverage table. Lights twinkled on the Christmas tree while a fire roared quietly in the fireplace. Soft Christmas music played in the background. Jenny stood back and surveyed the room with a critical eye. It was the first Christmas gathering together with his team and Ducky and Abby. These people were important to Gibbs and she wanted things to be perfect.

"It looks good, Jen."

"Really?" she questioned still surveying the room. "Do you think I overdid it with the food?"

"Nope, I think everything is fine."

"What about the…?"

"Jen," he said tugging on her hand and turning her to face him. "It looks great. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried, I just want things to go well tonight."

"Hey," he said softly, pulling her into his arms, "what are you so worried about?"

She shrugged, feeling uncertain. "I don't know. I just want them to approve."

His blue eyes gazed steadily into her own. "Of what? Us or the party?"

"Maybe both," she said quietly.

Gibbs chuckled. "Honey, they'll approve of us believe me. As for the party, we've done things together before. Its not like the whole agency is coming. Its just the team."

"I know. I'm being silly."

Before he could comment the door rang. Gibbs gave her an encouraging squeeze before releasing her. They both walked to the door and Gibbs put his arms around Jenny shoulders and opened it to reveal Tony, McGee and Ziva and Abby on the other side.

McGee's eyes widened as they took in the sight of their boss with his arms around his boss, standing very close to each other. Tony smirked at Ziva who rolled her eyes and Abby squealed in delight but didn't say a word. They entered with good-natured greetings, each barring gifts to be put under the Christmas tree. Ducky and Palmer arrived shortly thereafter and they too seemed to share knowing glances but said nothing about the intimate nature in which Gibbs was holding on the Jenny's waist.

Everyone began to relax and eat and partake of the drinks. The conversation flowed as lame jokes were told and Jenny sat back to enjoy it all.

Gibbs came up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her against him.

"See? Told you it would be okay."

"Yes," she acknowledged, "you did."

As long as Gibbs' team didn't have a problem with the change in their relationship, she wasn't really worried about everyone else.

"Hey, is it time to open presents yet." Abby asked looking eagerly up at them.

Jenny told her head towards Gibbs and he nodded. "I guess so."

The moved to the tree and Abby was immediately appointed at the person to hand out the presents. They did so, one at a time, so everyone could see what everyone got. There was a lot of laughter at some of the sillier gifts and some ooohs and ahhhs from those with more sentiment behind them.

Abby handed a rectangular box to Jenny. "Its from Gibbs," the Goth told her excitedly.

Jenny tore opened the paper, staring at the object in front of her with a mixture of confusion and amusements.

The group was quiet as they too started at the gift.

"Uh, a box of Kleenex, Boss. Did you run out of money?"

"No, DiNozzo, I did not run out of money," Gibbs snapped. "It'll be explained," he said vaguely. "Go on, Abby."

Jenny sat aside the box of Kleenex as Abby handed her another gift. Soon everyone forgot about the box of Kleenex.

"Well, that's it," said Abby as she handed out the last gift.

Gibbs leaned forward, frowning. "No, there should be one more."

It was Abby's turn to frown as she searched beneath the tree once more. "No, Gibbs, that was it. There's nothing else here."

Gibbs stood. "That can't be it. Jenny didn't get her gift from me. It's got to be somewhere on that tree."

Ziva and McGee joined the search and even Jenny looked puzzled.

"Are you sure you remembered to buy it, Boss?" asked Tony.

Gibbs glared at him. "Of course, I brought it DiNozzo. Jenny are you sure you don't see it? It's kinda small so maybe you should look closer."

Jenny kneeled on the floor. "Jethro, there's nothing else down here. Maybe you put it somewhere else. "

"No, I put it there. Search again, maybe a little higher. Maybe it got entangled on some of the tree branches."

"Jethro, sweetheart there's nothing here," she said again, just as Abby gasped.

"Director, look."

She followed Abby's wide-eyed gaze, not seeing anything at first, but then something shiny caught her eye. Jenny leaned forward and blinked, not sure if what she was seeing was really there. But it was, twinkling right along with the colorful lights decorating the tree.

This time Jenny gasp as her hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes watered as she stared at the sparkling round object tied to the Christmas tree branch. She looked back at Gibbs, a question in her glistening green eyes. He smiled tenderly and nodded at her to grab it. With trembling fingers Jenny reached out and untied her last Christmas gift from the tree, staring at it in awe.

"Oh my, I do believe she's gone into shock," Ducky murmured.

Gibbs bent down and took Jenny's hands in his own and lifted them both. He took the ring out of her shaking hands. Beautiful blue eyes stared intently into her own and Jenny felts her tears flow as he spoke.

"I love you, Jen. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Jenny had to swallow twice before she could get her voice to work. "You said you never wanted to marry again." she whispered tearfully.

"I never thought I would want to start a family with anyone again either. Couldn't picture bringing another child in this world, couldn't picture spending the rest of my life with anyone besides Shannon. Until you. When I lost you, I knew I'd lost my chance of ever being truly happy. When you came back into my life I felt like I had hope again. I'm happy, Jen, truly happy, and I owe that too you. I don't ever want to lose that again. I don't ever want to lose you," he told her fiercely. "What do ya say, Jen? Will you marry me?"

"Oh God, yes. Yes, I'll marry you, Jethro," she said covering his lips with her own as the team behind them cheered.

They broke apart and Gibbs wiped the tears from Jenny's eyes. "Merry Christmas, Jen."

She glanced at the clock and saw that it was indeed Christmas day. "Merry Christmas, Jethro," she replied tenderly.

Abby wiped tears from her eyes. "That's so beautiful."

She walked up to the pair and wrapped her arms around the pair. Tony and Palmer followed suit and soon the entire group was smoldering the pair in one gigantic group hug.


	13. Sercet Santa Story 2

**Secret Santa 2**

**by Crazy-Prune  
**

_for Caf-Pow

* * *

_

It was dark outside in the rising hours of the morning and the squad room was cast in Christmasy Red haze, something that she was certain she could thank Abby for. As sure as she was that there was something in the million pages of the Director's handbook that said Christmas decorations were not allowed, Jenny wasn't sure she could care too much this year; red and gold tinsel was wrapped around the stairs and along the balcony, Fairy Lights hung, twinkling between seasonal colours, from the ceiling, somehow huge glitter covered snowflakes had been snuck in too and were glimmering and glinting, hanging high above, in awe of all of the other decorations. The only thing that would finish of this scene as one of a winter wonderland would be a sleigh and a sprinkling of snow, but she could only wish; the sleigh she was sure was something that Abby could produce in a few hours – she daren't ask how – but snow simply wasn't going to happen. She certainly wasn't going to allow snow, real of fake, put inside so that it could destroy her Agency's carpets – explaining that one to the SecNav would be interesting, and whilst it was below freezing outside, for reasons unknown the sky was holding out on her too, this year. It seemed her dream white Christmas would have to wait yet another year.

"Jen," her attention was drawn to where the sound of her name was coming from; she turned to see Jethro staring at her from his desk. She was clearly his only focus in the otherwise empty room. It must've been something about Christmas Eve which she had yet to grasp hold of that made everyone else take the offered holiday – still she preferred to be here than an empty house and apparently so did he.

"Jethro, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same thing of you."

To Jenny, admitting she had nowhere better to be seemed just a little too pitiful to admit, instead she changed the question: "Did you know she was planning all this?"

Gibbs smirked; it was all the responsibility he needed to give to himself for her to know exactly how much he had known. She giggled childishly as she took another look around the room and its dazzling beauty, in a way; it was a shame that only they were there to enjoy it.

"Let's just say that she thought both you and I would be here, and so she said that if we weren't going home for Christmas, that she was bringing it to us."

Sometimes Jenny wondered where Gibbs had managed to find a 'daughter' as sweet as Abby, and yet as terrifying looking and strong as she was at times. She found herself in awe of a young woman so accomplished and loved. "She did all this for us?"

"That's what she said, although, I have a sneaking feeling that she enjoyed doing it a lot herself."

Jenny nodded in agreement – that was something anyone could be sure about. Abby was insatiable when it came to spreading holiday joy! "I have work to do, so I'll see you later?"

Gibbs didn't comment at first, he was here to do exactly the same, yet it felt as if they shouldn't be spending Christmas Eve, and most probably Christmas Day alone, even if they were spending it in the same place. "Jen!" She turned and he swallowed back his pride as he made the offer. "You could come and work down here, after all, Abby's put so much effort into all this it shouldn't just be wasted on me."

She smiled, almost beamed, in agreement. "I'll go and get my stuff."

* * *

"You know what would make this better?"

"Coffee?"

Jenny looked up at her desk-mate with a look of surprise on her face. "I wasn't talking about that, but coffee wouldn't hurt either. I was just thinking that with the squad room as decorated as it is, the only thing that would make it look better would be a sleigh and reindeer by the window – with the dark sky outside it really would look magical…and of course, the perfect addition would be snow, but not even Abby has the powers of that at her hands." Her eyes wandered over to the window where she imagined the scene in her mind and then back over to Gibbs who was stifling a little laugh at her suggestion.

"Seriously Jen, you want Santa as well whilst you're at it?"

She hit him playfully on the arm. "No! I just think it's nice, once in awhile to remind yourself what Christmas was like as a child – you only get that perfect Christmas once or twice, so…" She trailed off when she caught sight of Jethro, still trying not to laugh at her.

"It's sweet, that's all."

She gave him one of his own world famous Gibbs-glares that told him to shut up. "You want to get some coffee?" He agreed.

She grabbed her coat and bag, and watched as Gibbs did the same, only more slowly. He caught her gaze: "You go ahead; I'll catch up with you in a minute. I just have something to finish." Dubious, she agreed, feeling his eyes watching her until the moment the elevator doors closed after her.

Jethro pulled out his phone and dialled the number he knew by heart. "Abs, do me a favour – Jenny loves the decorations but she would love you forever if you give her a Santa sleigh and snow."

He could hear the exclamations of glee down the phone, he was sure that Jenny could probably hear halfway across the building at the volume level Abby used. "There'll be loads of Caf Pows," he assured her before he hung up the phone.

Grabbing his badge and gun out of the draw, he sprinted after the Director.

* * *

The pair arrived back quite a few hours later, a shopping bag or two in tow thanks to an excellent diversion in the form of a shop they had walked past, sure enough, Gibbs had allowed it to take enough time for everything to be prepared.

As the elevator doors opened, a blanket of white was revealed, one that stretched the length and breadth of the room, and brought gasps of shock to the both of them. Jenny stepped into the room first, bending down and scooping a handful of what appeared to be the tiniest polystyrene balls off of the floor and letting them fall back down as she unclasped her hand. She watched in awe as the little specks of white fell softly like snow. "How did you do this?"

"You wanted snow, so I made it happen, with a little help from the elves."

At the word elves, something else caught her eye, something even Gibbs couldn't believe Abby had pulled off – covering the floor in polystyrene was one thing, but getting a full sized sleigh into the building, let alone stacked with colourfully wrapped boxes of all shapes and sizes was quite another. Jenny almost ran over to it, dropping the shopping bags in her wake, like an amazed young child at their first sight of Santa's sleigh, running her hands over the apparently authentic wooden sides, feeling its texture under her fingers. She turned, rounding on Gibbs with an excitement and enthusiasm only before seen in the very young lady responsible for all this.

"Thank you!" She could've been bouncing, but he wasn't too sure, all he saw were the hundreds of tiny polystyrene balls splaying into the air around her feet, like kicked snow, as she moved. Grabbing him firmly by the shoulders, she wrapped her arms around him as her bouncing subsided – her little expression of her thanks. "I know you had more to do with this than you'll admit, so thank you – this is so amazing."

"Anytime, Jen."

Jenny unwrapped herself from him and took another look around what had once been the squad room, taking in every little detail that Abby and what must have been an army of people had created. "You know what, I should never have tried to stop her decorating before, I quite like the new look, perhaps we'll keep it this way and the teams can find somewhere else to work." She smirked at the thought of the looks on anyone else's faces if they ever saw the place in the state that it was in. The Legal Department would have a field day if they knew all the apparent safety 'dangers' of everything, particularly the fake snow. "How does Abby expect us to carry on working when there's all this around, it's far too distracting?"

"I think that was the point of the exercise."

"What are we supposed to do now then?"

Jethro smiled at her, "Talk, have fun – whatever it is that Abby demands more of. Perhaps you could tell me why you love snow so much?"

Within a few minutes, all the presents that had been in the sleigh were scattered all over the floor, the colours vibrant against the carpet of white; Jenny and Jethro took possibly the only chance they would ever get as serious adults to sit in the sleigh like children do at a winter funfair.

"…it makes absolutely no sense considering the fact that I hate the rain, but as a child my father and I would sit in the park when in was snowing or out in the garden if we had to, and we would sit with out faces up to the sky and our eyes closed just feeling the soft sensation of snow on our faces and catching in our hair – and it was something we always did. After my mother died, we always did it, no matter what, I don't even know how he did it, but whenever it snowed he would always come home early and we would go outside and that was every single time – he never missed one whilst I was a child…" She trailed off, lost in the memory, here face turned upwards as she remembered the sensation of the snow flitting over her skin.

"That's beautiful." He was struck for words at her memory, wishing there were something he could do to replicate it for her, but he could not make real snow.

"Mhm." She agreed, slowly bringing her eyes down to his and to be hit by a snowball of white. She shook it off, shock plastered almost permanently to her features and tiny beads of 'snow' stuck in her hair. "What the…?" she stuttered as she looked for Gibbs in her field of vision, now at least 10 metres, a safe distance away.

"Snowball-ish fight?" His face was an image of cheekiness.

"You're on!" Jenny jumped to her feet, grasping the first handful of 'snow' she could and lobbing it in his direction, missing by meters and realising that this was a whole new game with a whole different set of tactics.

So they went on throwing and kicking Abby's 'snow' until Jenny gave up, lying down in the middle of the squad room floor, a mermaid surrounded by a sea of white. Gibbs appeared next to her a few minutes later, sprinkling the last of his 'snow' over her as she gave him another of his death glares with her eyes half shut, before he finally gave in and laid down next to her. They looked to the ceiling in the same way Jenny looked expectantly at the sky, as if it were about to grant her wish of snow and dance it fleetingly over the both of them. Of course no snow came.

"You have to admit, I did win."

Jenny turned to him, this time not bothering with a glare, instead a look of incredulity. "What have you been doing, picking up lines from DiNozzo?"

"Why would you assume that?"

"Attacking girls then – it's not a good image."

"I thought you believed in equality, that women can be just as good as men?"

"I still do – when it suits me!" She rolled her eyes sarcastically at him and offered him a sly grin.

Jenny sat up, sensing something different as she caught sight of movement over the tips of her toes; over the sleigh and out of the window it had turned dark again, the shortened daylight hours having past them by but sure enough against the dark and in the light of the building she could swear she saw dots all over the sky. Jumping to her feet, she grabbed Jethro by the arm and pulled him after her, this time actually racing over to the window to behold what fell before her – it was most certainly snow!

The bouncing was already starting as she glanced down at her watch and saw that it was after 9 at night – finally she was going to get her White Christmas, all the snow had to do was to hold out for another 3 hours and she would get her snow falling on Christmas Day as well to make it even better. Jenny's face was a picture, one of childhood, full of the excitement of the unknowns of snow. For once Jethro seemed to share her excitement as he pulled her towards him, holding her in a tight embrace and absorbing her exuding energy.

Just then a shrill noise rang out in the otherwise quiet but electrically atmospheric room, Gibbs saw the Caller ID was Abby and put the phone on speakerphone as an equally ecstatic voice bellowed out into the room:

"Oh My God Gibbs! You made it snow – your psychic powers worked cos you knew both me and Jenny wanted snow and you made it happen. Thank you! I knew you could do it – I said you would, I told McGee and Ziva and Tony – I bet them $100 that if I wanted it to snow you'd make sure it happened!! Gibbs, I'm sending you e-hugs right now, I'm hugging you in my mind!..." Neither of them was sure what Abby said in the next 30 seconds as most of it came out as exhilarated screaming and overexcited mumblings.

"Abs!" They shouted together, repeatedly calling her name until she calmed down. Gibbs made no attempt to contradict Abby's claims deciding that it was easier for him if he let her believe that it was in fact him who had brought her and Jenny the snow.

"Abby, it's alright – you just spend that money wisely and the next time you want snow, I'm sure Gibbs will do his best to help both me and you out." Jenny shouted back at Abby, realising making more noise than the girl was the only way to get any message across over her still squealing voice. It seemed that she quietened down on hearing the voice of her co-wisher – as she thought of it.

"Okay. You should come over tomorrow, you have to come over tomorrow and we can all play in the snow!" She took a breath as if to say more, but Gibbs interrupted her before she could say another word.

"Goodnight Abs!" He hung up the phone for they both knew that girl could squeal away about Gibbs' magical powers if they let her.

Putting his phone away, Jethro tore his eyes from the woman in front of him to take a look outside where, thankfully, it was still snowing. "Shall we go and restart that snow tradition of yours?"

Jenny nodded vigorously with a gleeful smile plastered to her face.

Dressed in coats, gloves, scarves and all the layers they could possibly need for the sub-zero temperatures outside, Jenny and Jethro stepped hand in hand out into the glorious columns of falling snow. The cool flakes pitter-pattered over their skin, as they eyes closed and face upwards welcomed the magical sensations – a feeling so strange but enchanting. Jethro slipped his eyes open to watch his partner's beautiful smile as she relived the memories of her tradition both literally and in her mind; the image of the shimmering white snowflakes scattered through her dancing fiery long hair was stunning, he ran his thumb along her cheek to slip an unruly strand of hair away from her eyes as she opened them, aligning them with his and seeking the significance of this shared experience in his seas of blue.

A phone rang again, breaking the enchanting moment, but not for more than a few seconds, their eyes remaining connected with the others. This time it was Jenny's phone, which she slipped from her pocket and answered quietly; taking in the information in a few words and hiding the device back away again. She whispered the news she had received as the nothingness that it meant to her in that moment: "Assistant Director Vance just died, apparently in a blizzard."

Gibbs accepted the new information with a little "Uh-huh." Not really bothering to process it, as it was a side note in what he was about to do. Reaching forward he took Jenny's cheek back under the rough skin of his fingers and pulled her closer, pressing the kiss to her lips that he had been wanting to all day, absorbing this amazing woman into him and finally relighting the burning connection between them.


	14. Secret Santa Story 3

**Secret Santa**

**by Caf-Pow  
**

**Post Judgement Day with a twist, Gibbs called Jenny sooner, she survived the Diner shoot out, Vance never became director and only two people know the truth about Le Grenouille.**

_For A'serene. _

**

* * *

  
**

Abby grinned widely her jaw dropping as Jenny told her the plan she had devised for the Christmas party, 'wow, I'll do it but ... you're really going to do it?' she asked incredulously. Jenny nodded, 'Yep, as it's Christmas,' she sighed, Abby jumped over to her and hugged her, 'I'm gonna help you and I'm going to make it the best Christmas ever.'

Abby bounced to the door and turned around her eyes wide, 'what size are you?' Jenny stared at her, 'why?' Abby grinned, 'don't worry, I'll guess, a 10?' Jenny watched with narrowed eyes as the younger woman closed her office door behind her. Jenny looked down at the files littering her desk and sighed, work doesn't just stop because its Christmas, her door popped open, 'Have you got your secret santa present yet? We're exchanging gifts tomorrow,' Jenny rolled her eyes, 'Yes Abs I have.'

Abby bounced down the stairs and into the bullpen, Gibbs was no where to be seen, 'Hey guys, I need your help with something,' she looked left to right and then at the elevator doors, 'be at my place at 8, make sure you're not followed,' she looked around her as if expecting someone to be eaves dropping, she scurried off to the elevator and bumped into Gibbs as he stepped out, 'Oh, Gibbs, didn't expect to see you here,' she breathed at top speed, he passed her the cafpow in his hand and gave her a quizzical look, 'something you're not telling me Abs, it's about the secret Santa so I can't tell you.'

Gibbs nodded and stepped aside allowing Abby to enter the elevator, she smiled as she pressed the button for her lab and waved as the doors closed in front of her. She spent the next few hours browsing the net desperately searching for what she needed, when her phone rang signaling it was 6pm she jumped up and grabbed her things before flying out of the building and into her car.

She hurried around the shops open late for Christmas shopping buying several huge rolls of wrapping paper and masses of ribbon, she headed home to wait for the others to arrive. As she stared at the paper she realized there was something missing, she picked up her phone and hit the first speed dial, 'Gibbs,' 'Gibbs I need you to do me a favour,' she asked in her sweetest tone.

She put the phone down gleefully, everything was prepared. At 8pm her doorbell rang and she hurried to let the others in, 'Come in, come in, its so exciting, I have some amazing news and I have the most brilliant plan ever, but I need your help to make it work.'

Twas the night before Christmas!

Gibbs pulled into the parking lot outside NCIS headquarters with the 'favour' he had done for Abby, he'd been up all night working on it! He slipped out of his pick-up and stomped across the snow covered concrete until he reached the door, he headed inside and groaned at the decorations, Abby must have had something to do with the 6ft stand alone Santa's and reindeer and elves, and the fake snow, and the 8ft tree.

Great, cheesy Christmas tunes, I wish it could be Christmas every day, was blaring out from huge speakers by the stage, he frowned as he trudged over to Ducky, 'Ah Jethro, try to enjoy yourself, for Abby,' the older man told him, Gibbs nodded and pulled his coat off. He could be cheery for one evening then he could go back to his house and sand his boat all day and night listening to his favourite tape, alone and in the quiet, just how he liked it, alone with his memories.

Abby jumped onto the stage in a short santa outfit with a little shawl around her shoulders and black ankle boots, 'Now that everyone is here we're gonna start out festivities with our Christmas Karaoke bonanza! Starting with the T-men singing Last Christmas!' She whooped and ran off the stage as Tony and Tim shuffled on 'the T-men?' Gibbs repeated, 'you know how over excited Abby gets,' Ducky took a sip from his eggnog and turned to watch his team make fools of themselves.

He did have to admit though, Tony could sing, Tim was trying but he was nothing compared to Tony, they sang their way through the song with many delighted cat calls from the females of the agency as Tony wiggled his hips during the instrumental and performed some other rather unorthodox dance moves. Gasping for breath after the music finished he lifted his mike to his mouth and spoke, 'next we have the girls performing Santa Baby,' he hurried off stage as Abby and Ziva appeared, Ziva was obviously very uncomfortable in her tiny santa outfit.

Gibbs was horrified at Abby and Ziva's pouting and hip wiggling as they asked Santa for a blue convertible, checks and a ring, he was very glad by the time they finished singing and then had to wonder what was coming next. Ziva announced the next act, 'Put your hands together for Duck man and the autopsy gremlin performing Frosty the Snowman.'

He knew his friend could sing but the sight of Palmer singing, 'frosty the snowman, happy happy snowman, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha,' in a silly voice caused him to snort into his bourbon. This is why he had been asked to sing, Abby appeared in front of him and grabbed his arm, 'you're next!' She dragged him towards the back of the stage and behind some curtains.

He heard Frosty finish and then Ducky's voice announcing him to the stage, he cursed under his breath and found himself being forced into a knitted sweater, 'oh Abby,' he moaned, 'go on, sing like you've never sung before,' she patted him on the back and shoved him up the stairs. He stepped onto the stage and Palmer passed him a microphone, he frowned and Palmer hurried away.

He sighed as the music started and decided to ignore the bunch of drunken colleagues watching him make an idiot of himself. He sang smoothly and noticed Abby grinning up at him, 'but as long as you love me so, let it snow, let it snow, and snow,' he sang to her, her smile made him smile and he allowed himself to relax into the song. He spotted a flash of red hair from the corner of his eye and glanced around, maybe he imagined it. He tried to do a little tap dance in the instrumental and heard a familiar wolf whistle from behind him, he grinned as he finished the song and bowed to the whooping audience, Abby was going to go without cafpows for a month for this.

He hurriedly exited stage right and shot round to Ducky and Palmer, 'I didn't know you could sing like that Jethro,' 'man of many talents,' he muttered searching for alcohol. As his back was turned he heard a familiar voice introducing the next song, he turned around confused, 'Tim,' 'Apparently all someone wants for Christmas is you,' he told the audience and slipped off the stage. Gibbs watched waiting to see who would appear next it was the last thing he expected.

'I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need,' he knew that voice, it couldn't be, could it? 'I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree, I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know, make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas is you.' A pair of shiny knee high boots, fluffy topped boots none the less, a pair of familiar toned legs, a very short red, white fur trimmed dress, a black belt, a strapless dress! Bare shoulders and red curls, topped with bauble earrings and a Santa hat perched jauntily on her head.

He stared mesmerized as four others appeared behind her and became her backing singers, he rolled his eyes at Tony, Tim, Ziva and Abby singing, 'And I,' in unison, all grinning from ear to ear as Jenny performed on stage. He suddenly realised every time she sang 'you' she looked directly at him, as his eyes widened her smile grew bigger, he wondered how much alcohol she had consumed before getting up on that stage.

He chuckled as he remembered a Christmas quite a few years back when she had performed a rather raunchy dance to this song dressed only in red bra and panties in their bedroom. Her face lit up at his chuckle, he remembered, she plucked up the courage for the end of the song and as she sang the final, 'All I want for Christmas is you,' she pointed at him, then bottling it she panicked and started pointing at her backing singers and Ducky and Cynthia and everyone else in the room.

As the next sucker hopped on stage to take their turn Gibbs tried to hide behind the tree, Abby was looking for him with that determined look on her face. 'I wonder if this tree sings if I poke it?' she asked poking him in the stomach, 'Oh, I'm the happiest Christmas tree, ho ho ho, he he he,' he sang quickly before poking his head out. 'Abs,' 'that is so cool, a singing Christmas tree!' Abby started trying to poke his face and squeeze his hand, 'what are you doing?' 'Seeing if you change tune,' 'Abby!'

Abby sulked as she turned away, she froze for a second and turned back to him grinning, he watched her as she ran off with that look in her eye, she was up to something. He sneaked over to the bar and ordered a shot of bourbon; he downed it in one gulp before ordering a second. 'Take it easy, you've got all night, they're not going to run out Jethro, bourbon on the rocks please,' he glanced at the vision smiling at the barman beside her.

Her lipstick glistened in the light and her eyes shone with each passing movement of the glitterball above them. 'I wouldn't be so sure, not with the dutch courage you consumed,' Jenny smiled and knocked her bourbon back as quickly as Jethro. 'No dutch courage needed here,' 'so you'd tell me all you want for Christmas is me sober?' She stared at him, he stared back, neither willing to back down and break eye contact first.

'Look up!' both turned to the side together and saw Abby, Tony, Ziva and McGee grinning, Abby was holding a pole in both hands. They followed it up above their heads and both groaned in unison when they saw the huge sprig of mistletoe attached to the end. 'No,' Jenny stated before ordering another drink, Gibbs shook his head smiling, 'not a chance,' he turned to the barman serving Jenny again, 'make hers a double and i'll have the same,' 'not trying to get me drunk are you Jethro?' 'you're doing a pretty good job of that yourself Jen.'

She glared at him taking a sip of her drink, 'oh mistletoe,' her face became stony as she heard the voice behind her, 'it won't work Duck,' she heard Gibbs tell his friend. 'oh, it's Christmas tradition, i'm sure the others would participate,' Jenny turned around at the murmurs of assent. 'Go on then,' their faces fell. Tony and Ziva looked at each other mortified, McGee looked like he might faint and Abby turned pale, if that was possible.

Jenny smirked, 'i'll do it, if you lot do it,' 'sounds like a plan,' Tony grinned and dragged Ziva underneath the mistletoe, he placed a big sloppy kiss over her mouth, she shoved him away 'urgh,' 'next!' Tony chanted snatching the mistletoe and hanging it over McGee and Abby, 'go on McGeek,' McGee looked nervously at Abby's pursed lips and closed eyes, he leaned in a gave her a quick and gentle kiss on the lips.

'Now it's the bosses turn,' Gibbs looked at them halfway through eating something from the buffet bar, 'I didn't agree to anything,' he continued to ignore them and eat other snacks from the bar. 'I tried,' Jenny smirked turning back to the bar; she picked up her drink and took another swallow. Someone tapped her on the shoulder, she felt a familiar thumb brush her jaw as she was pulled towards his lips.

It might only have been for a second but it felt like a life time, she felt his tongue slip between her teeth and touch her tongue, before she knew it there was an unwanted visitor to her mouth and he had pulled away. She shut her mouth quickly and glared at him, 'Director Shepard,' her eyes widened in horror for a split second before she turned and smiled with her lips firmly pressed together.

She nodded and smiled as her Deputy Director Vance introduced his wife and the Deputy director of the FBI, why was he here? She continued her nodding and not speaking until they moved away. She turned back to Gibbs and glared at him, he smirked, 'something wrong Jen,' she pulled a face as she swallowed and narrowed her eyes at him, 'you did that on purpose,' 'I didn't know I wouldn't like the hors d'oeuvres.'

'Yes you did, you don't like pesto,' she snapped before storming off, Gibbs smiled behind her; 'it's not remotely funny Jethro.' He held his hands up in front of him, 'looks like I'm in the dog house,' Jenny sighed in frustration as his voice reached her ears. 'How much have you drunk?' She asked not facing him, 'not much sugar,' 'you're making jokes and calling me sugar, you've drunk too much,' 'i'm getting in the Christmas spirit,' 'or a hangover.'

Gibbs took another swig of his drink before turning and almost knocking Jenny over, 'woah boss, don't wanna end up in a controversial position on the floor with the director now do you?' 'Nah,' he replied nodding with a surreal and very un Gibbs expression on his face, 'let's get you home boss,' 'okay,' Tony rolled his eyes at Gibbs and grinned, 'lets see him live this one down, i'll take him home then I think i'll head home too, you never know what me might be called out to tomorrow.'

Jenny nodded, 'get him home safe,' Tony nodded 'I will, McGeek give me a hand,' Tim took some of Gibbs weight and helped Tony lead him from the room, Abby and Ziva said their goodbyes and headed home too. Jenny hovered between the bar and the buffet table, snacking and drinking and talking to whoever spoke to her, how ever much she wanted to leave she knew she was stuck there until the end.

Finally the last song was over and she was able to grab her bag and coat and head home as fast as she could. She locked her front door behind her and threw her coat on the hook, she headed upstairs and changed into warm pyjamas and pulled her fleece blanket around her shoulders. She headed down into her kitchen and made herself a cup of cocoa before heading into her lounge to get a book.

She stared at the box beside her tree, she didn't have a tree yet there it was, 7ft tall and decorated beautifully, there was also a box roughly 4ft by 4ft by 4ft, covered in wrapping paper with thick ribbon tied in a bow around it. She stared at it confused, how did it get there? She walked over to it and looked at the tag, 'To Jenny, Merry Christmas, love Tony, Tim, Abby, Ziva and Ducky.' She shook her head and decided not to try to imagine how they got the tree and present into her house, she grabbed her cocoa and book and headed up to bed.

And the bells are ringing out for Christmas Day...

Jenny woke up curled in a ball under the covers, she could tell it was light outside but didn't want to move. Eventually the need to pee and get coffee triumphed over her love of her bed; she crawled out from between the sheets and headed to the bathroom before going downstairs to make coffee. She looked at the box and was suddenly intrigued by it, she sneaked over to it as if someone was watching her and looked at the tag again, 'It's exactly what you wanted,' was scrawled on it beside the message.

She bit her lip as she ran her fingers around the top edge; she felt a lid underneath the paper and carefully untied the ribbon. She licked her lips nervously as she felt the edge beneath her fingers and lifted it gently, tearing the paper as she did so. She lifted the lid up and peered inside; she saw two eyes looking back up at her.

She dropped the lid in fright and jumped backwards, hearing a sigh she stepped forward again and looked inside, yep he really was in there; he really was her Christmas present. 'Morning Jethro,' she whispered still not sure if it was real or not, 'Morning Jen,' he muttered pushing himself up and helping her remove the lid. He looked down at the box and shook his head, 'locked inside my own handiwork.'

'Then it's all your own fault,' she grinned looking inside the box, 'someone thought of everything in there,' Gibbs nodded, 'blankets, pillows, 2 litre soda bottle to pee in, a bottle of water, all the home comforts.' Jenny laughed, 'Abby,' Gibbs agreed. 'You think they were trying to tell us something?' 'Mommy and daddy should be together?' Gibbs stared at her, 'that what you want?' Jenny looked away, last time she had shown any kind of feelings for him he had politely declined and walked out of her house.

'Maybe this time I shouldn't take no for an answer,' he whispered, stepping out of the box and placing a hand on her shoulder. It was the first physical contact they had had in years and it took her breath away, just to know it was him stroking her shoulder with his thumb. She felt his lips brush against her neck and found her eyes fluttering closed; she could feel his breath tickling her skin and his body pressing against hers.

'You were singing to me last night weren't you Jen,' he whispered behind her ear, she hesitated for a second; terrified she might say the wrong thing. 'Very astute of you,' he smiled as he kissed her neck gently, 'you didn't mean it when you said no off the job did you? It would be such a shame,' he removed his lips from her neck and leaned back for a second.

'No, I was just doing what was....' 'Best for you, I know, shall we try it again?' he turned her around and looked into her eyes. 'I missed you Jen,' she smiled slightly, 'I missed you too,' he leaned down and stroked her chin with his thumb before pressing his lips to her cheek, jaw and finally her mouth.

He ran his tongue between her lips as she parted them and ran his hands over her breasts and down to her buttocks, she forced her tongue past his and grabbed the waist band of his jeans. Gasping for breath they parted for a second, their eyes locked, the fear and lust evident to both. Gibbs suddenly looked at the box and frowned, he pulled a tiny disc from the wood and held it up at eye level, 'Get all that you lot?' he growled angrily.

Jenny pursed her lips, seconds later there was a knock on her door, the team stood sheepishly in her porch. Jenny and Gibbs had identical expressions as they stared out of the door, 'hi, er we, er, um, er, it was Abby's idea,' Tony stepped back quickly and pushed Abby into the fore. She grinned, 'you did ask for him for Christmas,' she pulled her most innocent face. 'I didn't ask you to take advantage and lock him in a box,' 'technically it was drug him and lock him in a box,' Ziva piped up, Tony glared at her.

'Drug? You drugged me!' Gibbs was fuming, 'you drug me, stuff me in a box and spy on me!' 'We were spying on the director really,' 'oh and that's supposed to be so much better?' Abby nodded, 'we wanted to see if she liked her present and judging by that lipstick smudge all over your face, she loved it.' Gibbs raised his hand threatening to slap the back of her head, 'well now you know, get out,' he pointed to the road.

Tony, Tim, Ziva, and Abby smiled as they walked away from the house, the door closed behind them muffling the giggling, Abby grinned, 'a job well done.' Tony smiled as they climbed back into their makeshift surveillance van, 'I wonder if he knows about the camera on his sweater?' 'No Tony don't even think about it, they'd kill you!' 'Not even a little peek?' 'No!' 'Partypoopers.'


	15. The Key

**Title: The Key**

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS in any way shape or form. I only wish I did.**

**Spoilers: Spoilers Through "Silent Night"**

_For Dr. JulietBurke, Happy Holidays my dear!

* * *

  
_

"Gibbs! I don't understand what it was that I did that was so bad!" Abby protested following her silver foxed boss to his desk where the team was working and looked up.

"You interfered directly in my investigation!" Gibbs snapped. "And you young lady are grounded to your lab!"

"Gibbs you just told me that I redeemed myself!"

"I said maybe redeemed yourself," Gibbs corrected sternly.

"I did what..." Abby trailed off looking over her Boss' desk. "What's that?" She asked pointing to the small box." Gibbs glanced down at his desk to find the box that had grasped Abby's attention.

"Uh boss, it was delivered by courier," Tony piped up. "'Bout twenty minutes ago."

"We did not see them," Ziva added.

"McGee?"

"They didn't say who it was from Boss, I could find out where its from."

"Do that," Gibbs ordered. He opened the box and found a black velvet jewelry box inside.

"Oh, nice Boss," Tony whistled. Gibbs glared at him and opened the jewelry box to find something rather unexpected, a key. Not just any key it was normal enough in appearance, but attached to the key was a thin red ribbon. He searched the box for a note, something to give him a sign to who it was from.

"Gibbs we..." Ziva began. "Uh Sorry Gibbs."

"What?"

"We have some information." Gibbs put the box on the desk again and followed Tony and Ziva to the interrogation rooms. He was back moments later.

"Boss you coming back for the movie?"

"Start without me," Gibbs ordered. He left taking the box with him. He dropped of Quinn at his daughter's house and after watching the reunion from the car he drove to his house. As he walked up to his front door a thought occurred to him and he took the key out he tried it in the lock to his front door. Nothing. He decided to turn back and head to NCIS, maybe he could find something there. He drove quickly back to NCIS and tried the keys elsewhere. He tried first the doors to the squad room, then the desks of his team and the cabinets nearby. There was no click.

"Agent Gibbs," Cynthia's hesitant voice interrupted his frustration.

"Cynthia?"

"Uh...Abby sent me to see if you'd come yet, the movie is almost over, but she said you...." She trailed off and he noticed her eyes divert to the key on the red ribbon.

"She said?"

"I'm sorry Agent Gibbs, uh may I ask where you got that," She inquired pointing to the key.

"A gift if you really have to know."

"From...Jenny?" Cynthia asked quietly.

"No."

"Oh, cause...well never mind," Cynthia finished turning up the stairs.

"You've seen a key like this?"

"It uh...opens a drawer in the Director's office."

"Does it?" Gibbs moved past her and up the stairs. He walked past MTAC into the Director's office, Cynthia on his heels.

"This is Director Vance's office now you just can't..."

"Cynthia if I have the key, would Vance have the key?"

"No..."

"Which means that he has something he wants hidden."

"But..." Cynthia sighed and she turned away to sit down. Gibbs turned to the desk, it hadn't changed, Vance hadn't gotten around to getting a new one. This was the same desk that Jenny had sat at just six months ago. The desk she spent all last Christmas behind, as opposed to Vance who just upped and left. Gibbs sighed, he had seen the difference in the running of NCIS immediately but he figured it was just something more he would have to get to used too.

He moved toward it checking all the drawers to make sure they weren't locked. He opened the drawer where Jenny had once kept her gun and badge to find some papers that related to nothing of importance. Whereas Jenny had taken pride in her agent skills Vance was more politician then agent. Gibbs moved to the other drawers but the key did not fit. This is getting annoying.

"Cynthia!" Gibbs called. The young woman appeared instantly.

"Agent Gibbs?"

"What drawer did Jenny keep her personal stuff in?" Gibbs inquired.

"I already boxed everything and gave it to you."

"Which drawer?" Cynthia sighed and moved to the drawer at the right side of the desk. She tried to open it. "That's just the design, there's no drawer there."

"Well six months ago there was," Cynthia assured. Gibbs studied the desk and found a notch in the side. "Key hole," Cynthia pointed out.

"And we have a key," Gibbs said. He slid the key into the notch and turned, it clicked and Gibbs watched the drawer pop open. "She always did love secrets."

"She was always pretty," Cynthia sighed pulling out the photographs. Gibbs glanced at them not saying anything but watching as Cynthia went through them. He noticed himself in a few of them and knew Cynthia respected Jenny to much to mention or inquire. Under the photographs Gibbs noticed another box.

"And what do we have here?" Gibbs pulled the box out.

"There's a Polaroid attached," Cynthia informed pulling it out. "Beautiful house." Gibbs opened the box and found another key. "Keys to the house?" Gibbs glanced over at the photo Cynthia held.

"I've been there," Gibbs gasped.

"Well...if someone sent you the key, maybe its related to the house," Cynthia suggested. "Where was it?"

"I...I don't remember,"

"What?"

"It was Jenny's surprise, she drove...and..."

"And I'm not asking more," Cynthia smiled.

"Gibbs!" Abby's squealing voice interrupted their silent battle.

"Abs."

"We thought you weren't coming Boss," Tony said.

"McGee!"

"Boss?"

"You can find anything right?"

"Uh Boss?" Gibbs shoved the photograph of the house.

"Find it now, Ziva, we need to talk," Gibbs ordered. He showed everyone out of the office and sat Ziva down at the desk.

"Gibbs?"

"You still have contacts don't you?"

"Yes."

"Contacts that would have informed you if you friend and employer had a hit out on them."

"It's not that likely that anyone would..."

"Officer David, I don't appreciate being lied to," Gibbs snapped.

"I haven't lied! Gibbs you know me why would I..."

"Where is she?" Gibbs demanded slamming his fist on the table.

"Who?"

"Ziva..."

"Boss she doesn't know," Tony answered stepping into the office. "Neither of us do, she was dying, she...she is dead boss, we just don't have her body."

"So who did we bury?"

"Empty casket, Vance...doesn't know."

"Why?"

"Uh...we're not sure, she told us to?"

"She told you to...she told you..."

"I'm sorry Gibbs," Ziva said quietly. "She wasn't going to live even with medical attention."

"You two I'll deal with later."

"She is dead Boss," Tony asserted. "That's not going to change."

"DiNozzo!"

"Boss!" McGee rushed in.

"What?"

"We found the house, here's the address and..." Gibbs swiped the piece of paper and stormed out. "Okay..."

"McGee get the car," Tony snapped. "Ziva get your gun."

"I'm coming," Cynthia informed. No one disagreed.

* * *

Gibbs drove the car at top speeds down the road and pulled into the old driveway. He couldn't see through his anger at his team, at Jenny, at who ever left the damn key. He couldn't see what might be possible without a swell of anger and there was still the mystery of who left the key. Someone obviously wanted him to know the truth and the only person he could think of was the victim herself. He pulled into the driveway and sat for a minute. Whatever lay in that house, he knew he wanted more than anything. If all he got for Christmas was the knowledge that she was safe, it was worth any horror, maybe not any horror. I've had enough misery. He grabbed the two keys and got out of the car. He approached the front door and took a deep breath and inserted the key. It clicked.

He entered the house and checked around. It appeared lived in. The oven was on, smells of apple pie creating a peaceful aroma that Gibbs tried not to relax into. He was frustrated that this is all he'd gotten. A pie, for all the guilt and emotions that had been dragged up by this simple gift, he got a pie. It hardly seemed worth it. He heard the back door opened and his hand went to his gun. A familiar German Sheprad walked into the room and tensed slowly but simply moved over to his water bowl. Odd, attack dog, doesn't attack. He moved to the back door to find the snow coming down and a figure brushing it off her jacket. His breath caught.

"Jen."

"Jethro! I've been expecting you, glad to see you got my Christmas present," she answered as if this were an everyday occurrence. "You are a bit later than I was expecting, I'll reheat dinner, but dessert should be ready soon." She moved past him to get into the kitchen but he caught her arm and stopped her.

"Jenny..." he sighed just starring at her.

"Hm?"

"You're dead."

"Well, not literally, I mean technically yes but that was just McGee's doing I mean..." Jen paused. "He didn't tell you?"

"Boss! Where are you?" Tony's voice echoed from the front area and moved closer as suddenly the team surrounded them.

"MCGEE! You've got explaining to do." Jenny snapped. The young man stepped forward. "You didn't tell them?"

"I tried! Gibbs...hasn't quite been himself lately," McGee defended. At this, Abby launched herself from behind Ziva at the redhead.

"We've missed you!" Abby exclaimed hugging her tightly. Ziva and Tony backed away slowly.

"You two... I owe you," Jenny said. "As for you," She turned to McGee. "You were trying to do what I did, there's nothing wrong in that," Jenny praised. Her hand landed on Gibbs shoulder and she squeezed. "You and I are going for a walk." She pulled him toward the door. "Oh Abby, the dog is in the kitchen, McGee let me watch him."

"Jethro's here!" Abby squealed and went to find her four legged companion. Jenny smiled sweetly as she led Jethro out into the snow flurries.

"So I'm guessing you have questions." Her tone had reverted to the Director tone he heard so often and missed lately.

"No...just one."

"That would be?" He grabbed her by her shoulder and held her in place.

"Why?"

"I thought I was dead," she answered. "You'd already been told I was dead. McGee evidently made the decision that you weren't in the right frame of mind to hear that it wasn't permanent."

"Death is permanent Jen."

"I know, I...wasn't going to tell you but...we have a little bit of a problem."

"We?"

"There's really no easy way to tell you this, so I'll just..." She unbuttoned her coat.

"You're going to freeze," he scolded reaching around her to pull her flush with his body. He jumped back immediately noticing the difference in her figure. "Jen..."

"Uh...surprise," she tried weakly. Jethro reached out with one hand and traced down the center of her body feeling the swelling over her abdomen.

"You're...You're pregnant."

"You remember the fight we had after Fornell left..."

"It didn't finish in your office, I went over to your house to...I don't remember what I was doing."

"You know you were going to yell at me for doing what I did, you just didn't get the chance. I was...emotional and we...got carried away."

"It was a long time coming."

"Maybe so, still doesn't explain why you weren't there in the morning."

"I didn't think you'd want me there."

"Bullshit," she accused before dropping her head. "It doesn't matter. Apparently we got too carried away, I never even..."

"You didn't tell me."

"I didn't know! I found out Decker was dead, went to LA, got shot, everyone thought I was dead. I only found a few weeks later when I went to get the stitches out!"

"And..."

"And then I contacted McGee, I couldn't get ahold of Tony or Ziva and I was afraid Abby would tell you immediately. I hid the pregnancy from him, but...I can't hide this anymore, I'm due in a little under three months, it's a girl," she explained before heaving a deep sigh. "I'm sorry Jethro."

"Don't be sorry, you...protected our child."

"I...thought you would want to know...even if it meant I was resurrected, I think I would've told you had things turned out differently, so I'm telling you now." She paused. "Merry Christmas," she added as an afterthought. He was shocked silent and swallowed a few times before deciding that explanations did not matter. Apparently his descision making was taking to long in her book though, Jenny had feared the worst and started to move back into the house, completely distraught. Jethro caught her arm and pulled her flush aganist him again.

"None of it matters," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her hugging her tight to him. His mouth close to her ear so he could whisper. "You're alive, you're here, that's more than anything I could ever want. You're going to have our baby, that's just icing on the cake. Nothing else is important."

"Jethro if this is just about the baby..."

"No. No, its not just about the baby, its about the woman carrying this baby, you. I missed you Jen." Her eyes welled up with tears at this. "Hey...no tears."

"I...can't help," she sobbed. "Damn hormones."

"This I can help with him," he sounded awfully proud of himself, before toning it down. "Just promise me, you won't do this vanishing act again. I can't bury you again."

"I promise."

"Good." He turned her back toward the house and they began to walk back spying the team watchcing from the windows. "Oh Jen, one more thing."

"Hm?"

"I love you." To that she simply wound her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

* * *

On the deck watching the whole scene was the team grateful, and happy that for once there was a happily ever after.

"I think it best if we went in now," Ducky said finally as the kiss they were watching moved out of the G realm. There were some quiet protests but they all moved. "Now, now...off you children go." Ducky watched as they moved to find rooms to sleep in before turning back to the couple embracing in the new fallen snow and in the distance could swear he heard a jolly laugh.

_And I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight._


End file.
